


Protective

by crosspin



Series: I belong to you. (Protective Universe) [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Canon Compliant, Crazy Azula (Avatar), Established Relationship, F/M, Fiances who won't shut up about it, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Possessive Behavior, Post-Canon, Protectiveness, Sibling Bonding, Sort Of, angsty at the beginning but unbearably fluffy at the end, except where i decide to completely ignore it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 47,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24024061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crosspin/pseuds/crosspin
Summary: What Zuko wasn’t prepared for was something else, something far more animalistic. Every time he saw that necklace, he felt something clawing at the pit of his stomach: a sensation that was somewhere between “protective” and “possessive.” Although logically he knew it wasn’t true, the thought always appeared before Zuko could stop it:Sokka belongs to me.Or, Azula kidnaps Sokka. That doesn't sit very well with Zuko or Katara.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: I belong to you. (Protective Universe) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891462
Comments: 604
Kudos: 1662





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Touch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17488193) by [idontshipiyatch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/idontshipiyatch/pseuds/idontshipiyatch). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko is late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks so much for reading! 
> 
> First, please check out [Touch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17488193/chapters/41188868) by [iamD_and_idontshipiyatch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamD_and_idontshipiyatch/pseuds/iamD_and_idontshipiyatch). Their awesome work was a big inspiration for this one. 
> 
> As the title suggests, I wanted to play around with how each of these four would react to their loved ones being threatened. I have a real sweet spot for this ship dynamic!
> 
> This work begins about six years after the end of the series. Sokka and Zuko are 22, Katara is 20, and Aang is 18.

Sharp pops echoed off the walls of Sokka and Zuko’s bedchamber. 

Sokka counted the bursts of spark powder from the time candle on his bedside table. _Nine…ten…eleven. Ugh!_ He moaned internally. It was already eleven o’clock – or eleven o’candle, he’d joke to Zuko if he were there. But Zuko wasn’t there – that was the whole problem! 

Four hours ago, when Zuko’s attendants had whisked him away from their dinner to a meeting they promised was “nothing,” Sokka decided he would surprise Zuko with a little welcome gift for when he got back. He’d stripped all the way down to his undergarments and tried out various lewd poses in their bed until he found one that showed off just enough muscle to entice Zuko to jump him on sight. 

But then an hour had passed. And another, and another…

About a half hour in, Sokka let out a heavy sigh and plopped backwards onto their pillows. He wasn’t annoyed at Zuko, of course. Sometimes being pulled away from his life for the evening was part of the whole Fire Lord gig. But that didn’t stop Sokka from being annoyed with everyone else in the world – couldn’t they just keep it together without a babysitter for one night?

Sokka supposed he should be grateful that he’d gotten so much Zuko-time already that day. In the morning, they’d both gotten to participate in a big treaty negotiation with the Earth Kingdom’s ambassador to the Fire Nation. Zuko had been pushing for this rules-of-war agreement ever since he’d taken the throne. And because he knew how important it was to Zuko, obviously Sokka had spent the entire meeting fighting tooth and nail for it. Zuko scarcely had to say a word, and by the end of the conversation he’d gotten pretty much everything he wanted: a ban on war crimes, a peaceful procedure for adjudicating international disputes, an agreement to end all extrajudicial punishment, and a promise from the Earth Kingdom representative to get approval from the King as soon as possible. Sokka knew Zuko must have been thrilled, but before he could capitalize on the win, Sokka’s own assistant dragged him off to a meeting with his task force on resource allocation for Water Tribe infrastructural development. 

That evening, Sokka had hoped the two could have a quiet dinner together. But just as Zuko brushed a kiss onto Sokka’s forehead and kneeled down at their table, two of his attendants cut in and informed Zuko he was needed right away. To Sokka they looked pretty anxious, but to be fair, that was probably an appropriate reaction to attempting to tear the Fire Lord away from dinner with his fiancé. 

Sokka had asked what this was all about. 

“Nothing,” one said instantly. Then – perhaps remembering his manners in front of a future Fire Nation monarch? – “Just a meeting, Master Sokka.” To Zuko: “My lord, you are needed immediately.”

To Sokka, “we need the Fire Lord immediately” didn’t usually amount to “nothing,” but then again, these things seemed to happen all the time. Almost above all else, Sokka loved that Zuko was nothing like his father, but sometimes that made the Fire Lord far too approachable. Minor civil servants were always seeking him out personally with little disputes better suited for someone many rungs lower than Zuko on the nation’s ladder. Still, Sokka respected that Zuko never turned anyone away. 

So that night, instead of put up a fight, Sokka made up a bowl of dinner for Zuko to take along to the meeting and sent him on his way. Then, he went back to their room and waited. 

Sokka had held his position for as long as he could until finally giving up and fetching his leather sketchbook and a pencil from the desk. Dropping back into bed, he flipped to a blank page and began to idly doodle a mechanism that had been drifting around in his mind for a few days. _He really missed out,_ Sokka huffed to himself, wounded and alone. 

* * *

Had his heartbeat always been so loud? 

Zuko wondered offhand at the deafening, rapid thumping in his ears. Logically, he knew that he should be exhausted from such a packed day, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins now made him feel jumpy and paranoid in spite of the droop in his eyes. He’d insisted that they continue working for as long as they could, but the exhausted faces of his chiefs as midnight came and went convinced him finally to adjourn and hope that their collective brainpower would be stronger in the morning. Still, he felt wired as he walked through his own hallways to his bedchamber. Each time he heard a sound, he whipped around, only to remember it had come from his own guards escorting him back to his room. 

There was only one person on Earth who could make him feel this way. 

Finally, he had arrived. He turned to his guards. “You’re excused. Thank you.” They nodded and retreated. They would stand watch over the room for the night, he knew…and yet he still felt a jolt of anxiety seeing them go. 

Zuko took a deep breath and went in. 

And there was Sokka. 

Zuko’s fiancé lay diagonally across the bed, head propped up by one hand while the other was scribbling something down in his open sketchbook. One of his legs lay flat, fully extended on the bed, while the other was bent toward the ceiling; the shameless spread showed off the way Sokka’s extremely tight undergarments did almost nothing to hide the outline of what lay beneath. Zuko could see the tip of Sokka’s tongue poking out from between his teeth – a sign Sokka was in a state of extreme concentration. 

Normally, this sort of sight would make Zuko’s heart swell – or maybe he’d feel the swelling somewhere else? – because focused, inventive Sokka was one of the best Sokkas Zuko had come to know. Naked Sokka was up there too! Sokka knew exactly how to help Zuko wind down after a busy day, and nights with Sokka tended to give Zuko the fiercest happiness he had ever experienced. 

But tonight, seeing Sokka like this only made Zuko feel more terrified. 

“Sokka,” Zuko said softly, remorseful for interrupting Sokka’s work. 

“ZUKO!” Sokka gasped, looking up from his sketchbook. Zuko watched as Sokka’s beaming smile immediately gave way to a furrowed brow as Sokka’s eyes found Zuko’s. Zuko could only imagine how he must look right now, but he hoped it was closer to “serious” than “scared out of his mind.”

“Zuko…” Sokka said again, his tone wondering. He flipped his book closed and sat himself up, swinging his legs over the edge of their bed. “Babe, what’s wrong?” 

Zuko pondered the best way to say what he had to. If he was being honest with himself, he wished he didn’t have to tell Sokka at all. Sokka should be allowed to live in innocent bliss. But realistically, that just wasn’t possible. Besides, Zuko wasn’t willing to hide this from Sokka until this was resolved, because who knew when that would be? 

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he began by way of prelude. Sokka tilted his head, waiting with obvious concern for Zuko to finish. “Something happened.”

Zuko sighed. As he formed the right words in his mind, he crossed the room hesitantly and knelt lightly between Sokka’s legs where they hung off the bed. Zuko placed his hands softly on Sokka’s thighs; Sokka instinctively covered them with his hands and rubbed them gently. Zuko looked up at Sokka, who gave him an encouraging smile. 

“My sister escaped from prison. She’s missing.” 

Zuko hated to hear the words come out of his mouth. It had been a massive achievement just to get Azula into prison in the first place. Soon after he became Fire Lord, most of his new staff had encouraged him to execute Azula immediately. But Zuko had refused. He knew he couldn’t start his reign on such a bloody note. Instead, he demanded that Azula stand trial for the crimes she had committed during the war. For over a month, hundreds of witnesses were allowed to tell their stories about what Azula had done to them and their families. At the end of it all, Azula had been sentenced to lifelong imprisonment in the Fire Nation’s most secure prison, right under the palace. At the end of it all, Zuko felt like he had done the right thing. Even better, he felt safe. 

That feeling was gone. 

The look that appeared on Sokka’s face after Zuko spoke was hard to quantify. Zuko thought he looked more confused than scared, which was good. Sokka’s mouth opened, then closed again. Opened, then, “But…how did she…?”

The answer to that question was just as painful to reveal. “It was an inside job,” Zuko told him quietly. “No one was killed, no sign of a fight…but the next watch showed up and Azula and her guards had just vanished.” 

Zuko dropped his gaze and let his head fall onto Sokka’s chest. Sokka’s hands moved to rub his back. “That’s where I’ve been all night. Working with my chiefs to figure out what the hell we’re going to do about this. I’m sorry about that, by the way,” Zuko added, pulling back to look Sokka in the eye. “I know you waited up. I would have come back if I could. I was thinking of you.” 

“It’s okay,” Sokka said instantly, and his expression told Zuko that it really was okay. “Typical Fire Lord stuff – I get it. You know you never have to apologize for that.” 

Zuko didn’t agree, but that was a fight for later. “Sokka, we have enemies here, in this palace,” he groaned, hand gripping Sokka’s thighs tightly. Zuko felt painfully naïve. Throughout the process of staffing the palace, including the prison underneath, he had been excruciatingly careful. Zuko never expected that he would have to face a threat from the inside. But the betrayal wasn’t even the worst part. “And…my sister, she’s…” 

Zuko heard his voice break, and then Sokka’s hands were in his hair. “Okay, it’s okay,” Sokka murmured. He tried to pull Zuko into his chest, but Zuko resisted, pulling back. It wasn’t okay. 

“Sokka, you don’t know my sister like I do. You don’t know what she’s capable of.” Zuko was certain Sokka could hear the fear in his voice now. 

Sokka’s fingers tightened on the back of his head. “I know, babe. I know how dangerous she is. But we’re in the safest place in the world. You’re guarded every minute of the day. There’s no way she could get to you.” He smiled reassuringly. “And if she ever got close to you, you know I would kick her ass. Even if she is a girl!” 

Even though he meant to comfort Zuko, Sokka’s words confirmed he didn’t truly grasp what had Zuko so shaken. Zuko gave a halfhearted smile, trying to acknowledge Sokka’s joke, but couldn’t force his face to hold for more than a second. 

“You…don’t understand,” he said. Zuko searched Sokka’s face, trying to find a way to explain. Moving past Sokka’s wide blue eyes, his broad cheekbones, his full lips, Zuko’s gaze landed on Sokka’s neck. 

His engagement necklace. 

Zuko remembered the months he’d spend learning how to carve whalebone, and the hundreds of discs he’d discarded before he’d gotten the design exactly right. He remembered the day Sokka had looked at it and said “yes.” The day Zuko fastened the necklace around Sokka’s throat, where it would stay for the rest of his life.

Zuko had expected his engagement to Sokka to make him happier than he had ever been before – and it did. What Zuko wasn’t prepared for was something else, something far more animalistic. Every time he saw that necklace, he felt something clawing at the pit of his stomach: a sensation that was somewhere between “protective” and “possessive.” Although logically he knew it wasn’t true, the thought always appeared before Zuko could stop it: _Sokka belongs to me._

Zuko reached up to run a thumb over his handiwork. It was the symbol of what he valued most in the world, and it was exposed for the entire world to see. 

“I’m not worried about my own safety,” Zuko said finally. “I don’t think she wants to kill me. There aren’t enough of my father’s supporters left in the Fire Nation. There’s no way she could take over.” He sighed. “I think…”

He dropped the necklace. “I think she wants revenge. I think she wants to hurt me like I hurt her. I took away her life, so she’s going to try to take away mine.” Zuko glanced back upwards to meet Sokka’s eyes, hoping he understood what Zuko was trying to say. “Sokka, I think she’s going to try to kill you.” 

For the first time, Zuko noticed that his hands were shaking. 

Suddenly, Zuko was being hauled onto the bed by Sokka’s strong arms and being forced down onto the blankets. Sokka wrapped his arms and legs around Zuko and enveloped him in a crushing hug. 

“Zuko, baby,” Sokka was murmuring softly into his hair. “You shouldn’t worry about that. I’m nobody. It doesn’t make any sense to kill me.” 

“You’re not nobody,” Zuko shot back, but the sharpness of the reply was muffled by Sokka’s body. Zuko wriggled, fighting to get his mouth out from behind Sokka’s bicep. “You’re my fiancé. You’re _mine_ ,” he added without thinking. 

That primal feeling stirred in his gut again. It only grew worse when Sokka whispered back lowly, “I know.”

“Azula isn’t like normal people. She doesn’t do this stuff because she’ll benefit from it. She does it because she likes it when other people feel pain.” _When I feel pain._ “I know that sounds crazy to you, but you don’t know her like I do.” 

“You’re right, I don’t.” Sokka still sounded disbelieving. “Still, I’m here in the palace with you. Even if she wanted to hurt me, there’s no way she could get to me. I’m never alone, and even when I am – ” 

“I want to assign you an armed escort,” Zuko blurted. 

“What? Nooo…” Sokka groaned. He released Zuko and rolled flat on his back, throwing his hand over his face. “Zuko, that is so not necessary.”

“It is necessary! I can’t be with you all the time to make sure you’re safe.” Zuko sat up and looked down at Sokka. 

“I don’t want some random guys following me around all day – ” 

“Sokka – ”

“Going to the bathroom with me – ”

“Sokka.” 

“Especially when there’s no reason to think – ” 

“Sokka!” 

Zuko immediately regretted raising his voice. He exhaled and reached down to stroke the buzzed side of Sokka’s head apologetically. 

“Sokka,” he tried again, softly. “It’s already been decided. Your escort starts tomorrow morning.” Zuko didn’t mention that Sokka’s protection was the first command out of Zuko’s mouth once he learned of Azula’s escape. “I picked them myself. They’re good at their job. They’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”

Looking up at him, Sokka didn’t look upset, just defeated. “Okay. Fine. But only so you’ll stop freaking out. I don’t want you to be worried.” 

Unwilling to lie, Zuko conceded, “I’ll still be worried. But this would make me a little less worried.” He suddenly felt guilty, saddling Sokka with such a major inconvenience for his own peace of mind. He had never doubted that Sokka would allow it, because that’s what Sokka did: whatever it took to make Zuko happy. “I’m sorry, Sokka. I know it’s…not ideal. Thank you for doing this for me. I’m hoping this will all be for nothing.” 

“Of course I’ll do this for you.” The unhappiness in his voice had completely softened. Now, Sokka was looking up at Zuko with a pure, burning tenderness. Zuko felt oddly moved. 

Without thinking, Zuko leaned down and brushed his lips against Sokka’s. Sokka’s hand came to rest on Zuko’s neck. The kiss lasted only a moment, and then Zuko pressed his forehead against Sokka’s, breathing into him. 

“I love you,” Sokka murmured. “Now will you please take your clothes off?” 

A few minutes later, Zuko was sufficiently undressed and climbing back into bed with Sokka. He could now feel the exhaustion in his bones with full force, and he knew he would fall asleep almost immediately after Sokka wrapped him up under the covers. 

Still, when he closed his eyes, he saw Azula.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! This is the first fic I've written in almost a decade, and my first time writing these characters. I'd love some feedback on my characterization of these two, or even just some acknowledgement that someone, somewhere out there is still reading as much ATLA fanfiction as I am. More chapters to come soon!
> 
> P.S. [This is how I imagine Sokka looks drawing in bed.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD07TmcaUIA)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka eats breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter! I'm having so much fun writing this, so I'm glad others are appreciating it as well.

Sokka woke up alone. 

As much as he hated it, that wasn’t unusual. Zuko liked waking up at sunrise anyway (“I rise with the sun” and all that) and he began his days especially early when things became particularly chaotic. Sokka supposed this was one of those times. 

As he stared up at the ceiling, the memory of last night’s conversation flooded back. Azula was missing. Someone in the palace had helped her escape. 

Sokka had experienced his fair share of run-ins with Zuko’s sister. He knew she was extremely powerful, not to mention totally unhinged. But he also knew that the last time she’d been loose, Zuko and Katara had been able to take her down. And they weren’t just a ragtag gang of kids anymore – day and night, Sokka and Zuko were surrounded by palace guards in an incredibly fortified palace. Sokka figured they were about as safe as they could get. 

So, no, Sokka wasn’t too concerned about Azula. What concerned him was…well, Zuko. Sokka had never seen Zuko the way he’d looked last night, face as grave as if he’d seen a spirit. Sokka’s heart ached to think anyone could make Zuko feel that way. 

Life had been so good to them lately. Zuko had really grown into his role as Fire Lord, and Sokka watched him grow more confident and sure-footed with each passing day. These past few years, they’d worked together to affect some pretty substantial change in the world. Not to mention their relationship! After so much time spent tiptoeing around their feelings for each other, Sokka had finally needled Zuko enough to convince him to give it a try. That had been several years ago, and Sokka was still pleasantly surprised daily by Zuko’s capacity for love, despite how little had been shown to him throughout his life. Life was good. For Azula to suddenly pull the rug out from under them was…well…it just wasn’t fair! 

Sokka decided he’d meant what he said last night. If he saw Azula, he really was going to kick her ass. 

_Sigh…_

Resolutely, Sokka forced himself to sit up in bed. He supposed he might as well get ready. 

He slid on a pair of slippers and shuffled over to their bathroom. Making eye contact with himself in the mirror, Sokka felt himself cringe involuntarily. He was definitely a sight for sore eyes. In his haste to smuggle Zuko into bed, he’d neglected to take his hair out of its wolftail, meaning that now half of his hair was sticking straight up in a crooked ponytail while the other half was pointing outwards in basically every direction. Dark circles had appeared under his eyes, a sign of how little sleep he’d gotten the night before. 

Sokka tugged off his leather hair tie and attempted to smooth his hair down. _A little better..._ he thought to himself, looking over his reflection critically. He had to admit he was proud of the way his body had filled out these past few years. Frequent practice with his sword (yes, his real sword!) had helped his arms and chest develop a layer of muscle he’d never been able to maintain as a teenager. Those arms were ringed with black tattoos from the tips of Sokka’s fingers to just beneath his elbows – the traditional markings of his tribe that he’d earned with manhood. _Still…_ Sokka made eye contact with himself again, searching his face for any of the adjectives Zuko liked to use to describe him. Handsome, sexy, beautiful…

Sokka sighed. He just didn’t see it. The man staring back at him looked just about as average as he could get. There was nothing special about him. 

Unlike Zuko…

Sokka watched the reflection of his face soften automatically at the thought of his fiancé. No one in the world looked like Zuko. He was _gorgeous_ – sharp but soft in all the right places, strong but slight enough that Sokka could still toss him over his shoulder, all contrast and poise and warmth. His smile, his hands, even his scar all made Zuko undeniably special. Sokka might have felt jealous, but the emotion was overpowered by his sheer gratitude to be the lucky man Zuko chose to spend the rest of his life with. Zuko was _his_. 

Sokka brushed his teeth and ran a razor over his jaw. Then, finding a warm bath already drawn (all thanks to the palace’s magical servants who always seemed to know _exactly_ when he would wake up) Sokka stripped off what little clothing he had left and climbed in. As best he could, he scrubbed himself down, paying special attention to his disobedient hair. Then, he dried himself off and threw on some moderately professional clothes for a day that would no doubt be full of bureaucracy. 

On the floor near the bedroom door was a piece of parchment – Sokka’s schedule for the day, compiled and delivered to him daily by his assistant. Soon after Sokka had begun his tenure as Ambassador for the Southern Water Tribe, it had become clear that keeping track of his packed daily schedule was not among his many talents. After a particularly awkward administrative failure in which Sokka had left the Chief of Agriculture waiting outside in the rainy rice fields for four hours, the responsibility for keeping his schedule was delegated. Now, each morning, his assistant slid his schedule under the door and dutifully ensured he made it to each appointment. Picking up the paper, Sokka made a mental note that she was probably due for a raise for basically singlehandedly preventing diplomatic crises on a daily basis. 

Sokka’s eyes lit up as he glanced down at the paper. _9 A.M. – Breakfast with Avatar Aang and Miss Katara._

Although Aang and Katara had been in the Fire Nation for a little over a month now, Sokka had seen very little of them. Aang was constantly busy – visiting orphanages, doling out food in soup kitchens, serving the ceremonial first volley in the national kuai ball championship, typical Avatar stuff. It was a rare treat when the three had a break at the same time. 

Reading on, Sokka spotted even more good news. _2 P.M. – Lunch with Fire Lord Zuko._ Far too often, Zuko’s lunches were spent placating foreign dignitaries or angry governors. Two in the afternoon was pretty late for lunch…but that was a sacrifice Sokka was willing to make. 

Glancing out the window, Sokka figured he had a few more minutes before his breakfast with Katara and Aang. He strode over to his desk and picked up his sketchbook – maybe he had time to finish the design he’d been working on last night?

As Sokka picked up the book, it flipped open automatically to Sokka’s most recent drawing. There, a piece of crisply folded parchment was tucked between the pages. Sokka pulled it out and unfolded it, recognizing Zuko’s uniform, well-practiced cursive. 

_Sokka,_

_It’s so hard to leave you this morning. I’m compelled to wake you up so I can have a goodbye kiss, but you look too peaceful to disturb. I think I’ll just let you rest. I’ve arranged for us to have lunch together this afternoon. I know it’s late, but I hope you’ll find the wait worthwhile. We’ll be together again soon._

_Yours always,  
Zuko _

_P.S. Be nice to them!_

_Be nice to who?_ Sokka wondered vaguely. No matter. He reread the note a few times, smiling at the thought of Zuko watching over him as he slept this morning. Then, he folded the note and slid it into his pocket so he would be able to sneak it out for another read when he got bored during today’s meetings. Zuko had a habit of leaving little notes around the room when he had to leave without saying goodbye. Sokka kept every one. 

A few more minutes of sketching, and then Sokka was on his way.

Or, that was what he intended. But throwing open the door, Sokka was immediately stopped short by the presence of two burly Fire Nation guards standing directly in his path. 

“Uh…hi?” Sokka glanced between them with confusion. Zuko was gone, which typically meant his guards had gone with him. 

The two guards bowed deeply. “Master Sokka. It is an honor,” one said, without breaking eye contact with the floor. 

“Uh, thank you,” Sokka said. When the guards maintained their reverent posture, he quickly added, “You may, uh, rise.” Sokka still didn’t really know how to deal with all the weird royal formalities that had begun to follow him around, first as an ambassador and now as the Fire Lord’s fiancé. 

The guards unfolded and faced him. Silently. 

“Sooo…” Sokka gave them a confused smile. “What exactly are you doing here?”

“We have been assigned by the Fire Lord as your personal guard,” said one. The taller one, who had done all the talking so far.

That did trigger a memory in Sokka’s mind. _I guess Zuko did mention something about that..._ “Oh, I see. Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Sokka,” he said, extending his hand to shake theirs and immediately cringing internally. _OBVIOUSLY they know my name already._

The taller guard looked hesitantly at Sokka’s hand for a moment before taking it in an awkward handshake. The shorter guard did the same. “Of course,” said the taller guard politely. 

“And you are?” Sokka asked. 

“I’m Akio,” the taller guard said, then looked at the shorter guard, as if to give him permission to speak.

“Ren,” the guard said simply.

“Nice to meet you,” Sokka said. Another beat of awkward silence. “Okay, so, I guess we’re going to be spending a lot of time together. First thing on the agenda is – ”

“Breakfast with the Avatar. Come, we will escort you.” 

“Oh, okay.” Sokka watched as Akio turned and began walking away from the bedroom. Ren stood back, watching Sokka. Comprehending what was supposed to be happening, Sokka followed Akio down the hall. Ren fell in behind him. 

They walked in silence, down the stairs to the more public parts of the palace where various ministers and staff were beginning their work for the day. Most greeted Sokka with a bow as he passed. 

“So, uh…how did you get into guarding?” Sokka asked, feeling unimaginably awkward to be in the tow of two aggressively silent armed men. 

“We have trained for this appointment our entire lives,” Akio said, as if it were obvious. “It is the highest honor to serve a member of the royal family.”

“So did you guys have to do guard school, or something?” Sokka asked, genuinely curious. 

Because he was walking ahead with his back facing Sokka, it was impossible to know if Akio smiled. Wishfully, Sokka assumed he did, although Akio’s tone gave no such indication. “Yes,” Akio said simply. “We graduated at the top of our class from the Fire Nation Military Academy.”

“That’s cool,” Sokka said, not really sure what else to say.

The men remained silent. 

The three made their way to the breakfast. Sokka’s meals were almost always set in one particular alcove, one of Sokka’s favorite places in the palace. It was a patio off the first floor of the palace situated at the top of a steep mountain ledge, with the best view of the ocean in the palace. Hard as he tried, one thing Sokka could never get used to here in the Fire Nation was eating indoors. Food was meant to be enjoyed in the fresh air, sitting around a fire with friends and family. Food just didn’t taste right inside. Sokka liked to take his meals here when he could, looking South to where the ocean met the sky. 

(A few years back, Zuko had caught on to Sokka’s affection for the spot. Sokka still remembered the day he’d walked out to find that the red curtains and cushions had been replaced with fur-lined cobalt ones. Sokka had cried for a very long time.)

They arrived, and Sokka pulled back the curtain to step outside. 

“SOKKA!” Katara yelled, leaping up to throw her arms around him in a tight embrace. Sokka hugged her tight, inhaling the unmistakable Water Tribe scent of her hair. Sokka never quite felt the weight of how much he missed Katara until he got to see her again and felt it lift from his shoulders. 

“SOKKA!” A second voice joined Katara’s, and Sokka was suddenly attacked by a third hugger joining the bunch. The force of Aang’s contact sent the three of them swaying, certain to topple over together until Aang quickly caught them all with an upward blast of air from the ground. 

“It’s so good to see you Aang,” Sokka laughed, disengaging before any real physical harm could come to him. “Katara…” he began, holding his sister at arm’s length and looking her up and down. With her gone for such long stretches of time, it was sometimes hard for Sokka to remember that Katara was no longer a young teenage girl. She looked the same, but…wiser. More at peace. And strikingly like their mother. Sokka struggled to reconcile the woman before him with the “little sister” he pictured when he thought of her. “I hope Aang is taking good care of you.”

“Of course he is,” Katara smiled, looking over at Aang, who blushed and grinned. “I hope Zuko is taking good care of you, too.”

Sokka opened his mouth to tell her that in fact, Zuko was doing a great job taking care of Sokka, when Aang blurted out “Hey, who are these guys?”

Sokka remembered the guards behind him. He looked at them now – they appeared visibly uncomfortable with the amount of physical contact going on in front of them. “Oh, right, sorry. This is my new escort. Katara and Aang, meet Akio and Ren. Akio and Ren, this is Katara, my sister, and Aang, the…well, you know.” 

Like Sokka had earlier, his friends extended their hands politely at the introduction. The guards uneasily returned the handshake and then bowed. “It is an honor to meet you, Avatar.” 

“It’s an honor to meet you too!” Aang said, slapping Ren on the shoulder. The guard remained uncomfortably silent. 

“Since when do you have your own escort?” Katara asked, confused. 

“Zuko requested them. This is his way of dealing with the whole Azula situation.” 

Katara’s face darkened at the sound of her name. “Of course. I think Zuko made the right call. You need to look out for yourself, Sokka. You know you’re a target now.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Sokka really didn’t understand. If he had escaped from prison, he would be on a boat to the other side of the globe, not sticking around and scheming against the Fire Nation’s royal family. 

“Zuko has made it clear that you make him happy,” Katara said, glancing down at Sokka’s necklace.

“Oh yeah, keeping Zuko unhappy is kind of Azula’s thing,” Aang reasoned. 

“Right. You need to be careful, Sokka. Azula is extremely dangerous.” 

“I mean, you guys already took her down once. Plus, you and Zuko and are even better benders now. Plus, I’ve got these guys,” Sokka said, gesturing back at the two guards. “I don’t know how much more careful I can be.” 

“Just…don’t do anything stupid,” Katara said seriously. 

This was supposed to be a fun breakfast, not a lecture! “I’m never stupid, remember?” Sokka reminded her. “Come on, let’s eat before the food gets cold. Tell me how you’ve liked the Fire Nation this time around,” Sokka said, leading them over to the pile of goodies heaped on the low table. 

“It’s been so great! Yesterday Katara and I visited the children’s hospital just north of here. I showed the kids how to play air ball,” Aang told him. Sokka smiled at the thought. He wondered how the sick kids’ parents must feel about their children hopping from stick to stick without any protection. “But Katara was the real star. They brought her back with some of the kids who have been there the longest. She healed them right up! One kid hasn’t been able to see in two years, a few minutes with Katara and he’s got 20/20 vision again.” Aang beamed at her. 

Katara blushed. 

Aang went on. “To be honest, I don’t think people really care about seeing the Avatar anymore. They’re just using me to get to Katara. Sure I do all the ceremonial stuff, but wherever we go it’s always Katara who fixes everything up.”

“That’s not true!” Katara laughed, giving him a playful shove. 

“It is! I swear our last few invites were like, can you leave the Avatar at home this time?”

Sokka smiled, piling greasy strips of picken onto his plate. Seeing the banter between Aang and Katara made him so unbelievably happy. As her older brother, Sokka had always seen it as his sworn duty to ensure Katara had absolutely no contact with the male gender until she reached at least forty years of age. But Aang had…changed things. If there was one man on the planet who was good enough for Katara, it was _probably_ Aang. 

(Sokka had said as much last year when Aang approached him to ask for Katara’s hand, and again a few months later during his speech at the reception that followed their small wedding ceremony.) 

“Will you guys be staying much longer? There are some cool spots I can show you in town,” Sokka said hopefully. Being the Avatar and all (not to mention a literal nomad), Aang was always leaving for another leg of his lifelong world tour, spreading hope and peace and all that and taking Sokka’s sister with him. All of that was unimportant compared to Sokka, who desperately needed a dance partner for when he went out. Zuko hated dancing and refused to do it, leaving Sokka partner-less unless he ever managed to convince someone else to tag along. 

Katara looked thoughtful. “We’re going to be in the Fire Nation for about another week. We have a few more visits to do, but we should be able to set aside some time for a night out over the next few days!” 

“That sounds so fun, Sokka,” Aang said through the slice of melon stuffed in one piece in his mouth. 

“Great,” Sokka said. The guards were fading into the background behind him as he remembered how comfortable it always was to be around the couple. “Now, I heard a rumor you almost started an international incident over at Our Lady of Agni last week?”

“Hey, if I’m not supposed to drink the water, then they shouldn’t put it near my food!”

“You didn’t notice everyone else washing their feet?”

“You don’t understand how hungry I was in that moment, Sokka – ”

The morning passed like a warm stream, enveloping them all and carrying them away together.

* * *

Separating was hard, but they all had places to be. 

“I’m gonna take you guys out,” Sokka promised, giving Katara one last hug. “I’ll have my assistant set it up.”

“So crazy that you have an assistant now,” Aang said reverently. “I’m so glad you find us worthy of a few minutes of your valuable time, Master Sokka.” 

He swept low, bowing mockingly. 

“You know, I’m a pretty busy guy, but I’ll see if I can squeeze you in,” Sokka responded with feigned disinterest. 

Katara smiled at him again, but after a moment her face clouded over. “Sokka, I was being serious earlier. Please look out for yourself. Don’t do anything crazy.”

“Relax! I won’t, I won’t.” Jeez, these people must think he was the biggest idiot in the Fire Nation. “From now I’ll consider myself under house arrest. Don’t worry about me, Katara.”

She looked at his face, then nodded. “Okay. Promise?”

“Promise.”

They said their goodbyes, and then they were gone.

Sokka turned back to Akio and Ren. “Alright, now if I’m remembering correctly, I think I have a meeting with – ”

“The Minister of Education. Come.” 

Akio turned and walked, and this time Sokka understood to follow along behind him. 

They made their way back into the common area of the palace, toward the Eastern administrative wing where many of the various ministers and chiefs worked. The halls were more crowded at this hour, which meant Sokka’s presence elicited even more bowing staff members for him to awkwardly smile and wave to. 

As they approached the minister’s office, Akio made a sudden left turn from the main hallway into a dark, narrow corridor hidden between two small offices. 

“Uh, what are you doing? His office is that way,” Sokka said, pointing forward to where the main hallway turned right, toward the bigger offices reserved for ministers just like this one. 

“This is for your safety. The Fire Lord doesn’t want you to be exposed to the public. He asked for us to transport you more discretely.” 

Annoying, but if that was what Zuko wanted…Sokka shrugged and followed along. He didn’t remember ever seeing this hallway, and he was curious to see where it led. As they continued walking, the corridor narrowed, so that the guard in front of him had no space between his shoulders and the stone walls beside him. 

Then, suddenly, the guard stopped. 

“What – ”

“I’m sorry, Master Sokka. You seem like a good man.” 

“What are you talking about – ”

A painfully strong arm encircled Sokka, trapping his arms at his sides. A hand forced a cloth against Sokka’s face. 

“MMMMM,” Sokka screamed against the cloth, fighting to free himself from Ren’s iron grip. But his arms weren’t working like they were supposed to…Sokka felt his legs failing, giving way beneath him as his vision blurred and the walls around him spun painfully. 

“She will be pleased,” Sokka heard, and then the world faded to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! 
> 
> We all know Sokka is sexier with tattoos, so I had to include them. I know a lot of people portray him with Polynesian-style, "tribal" tattoos, but since the Water Tribe is modeled after the Inuit community I was looking for something a little more historically accurate. Thus, in this fic, Sokka's tattoos look similar to [this](https://indigenouscontemporaryart.tumblr.com/post/155592620493/bodymodorigins-traditional-inuit-tattoo). 
> 
> I really appreciate any feedback on the story or the characters. The next chapter is pretty short, so it should be out very soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko waits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone for your support!

Zuko forced himself to breathe. 

If he’d had his way, he would have cleared his schedule for the day and redirected all his time to the Azula problem. He’d tried, too! But after a heated debate with his advisors this morning, one not without multiple threats that he would make sure they never worked in the Fire Nation again, Zuko finally caved. There wasn’t much he could do at this point anyway. Instead, he allowed his Chief of Police to formally take over the investigation, but only on the condition that Zuko be given hourly reports on his work. 

So far, each hour the report was the same: no news. 

Zuko had gone about his day tense and paranoid. He knew his colleagues didn’t deserve the impatience he was showing them, but it was a bit difficult for him to spend a full hour pretending to care about the drop in wheat prices when Sokka’s life could be in danger any moment. 

Still, he felt guilty for lashing out at them unfairly. Usually, Zuko was proud of himself for creating an open, democratic atmosphere among the Fire Nation leadership, unlike…previous Fire Lords. Although he could be temperamental at times, it was rare for him to his anger to take over his self-control to this extent. He spent the day constantly admonishing himself, which only made him more miserable. 

The thought of this lunch was the only thing that had gotten him through it all. 

With the weather as beautiful as it was, Zuko had directed his attendants to put together a picnic for the two of them to share outside, just like Sokka liked it. Zuko had picked out a grassy spot out in the gardens, shrouded in shrubbery and cooled by the shade of massive oak tree. His guards hated it when he came here – too many places for people to hide, they said – but that was why Zuko liked it. It was secluded, and not many knew about it. Here, he would be free of the demands of the nation for a little while. 

With his guards posted nearby, Zuko laid out a soft blanket and unpacked the basket. He’d packed a freshly cooked duck, mashed pumpkin, and mochi for dessert, some of the Fire Nation foods Sokka had grown the most attached to. Zuko even brought a little candle, which he lit with the tip of his finger. Looking at the spread of food, Zuko found that he was absolutely without appetite, so he hoped that Sokka was hungry. He figured that was a pretty safe bet. 

With the lunch supplies set out, Zuko sat down, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes. Breathing deeply, he attempted to locate in his body some scrap of calm that he could snatch up and show to Sokka. _See? I’m coping with this just fine. All good here. Nothing for you to worry about._

Sokka didn’t need to know how badly this was affecting Zuko. That, at least, was something he could protect Sokka from. 

“My Lord! Good afternoon.” A surprised voice interrupted Zuko’s quiet. 

Zuko started and opened his eyes, embarrassed that someone might think he was just hiding out in the garden meditating alone. Well, okay, that’s what he was doing, but not on purpose! 

The owner of the voice was an older man standing on the nearby sidewalk, bowing deeply. Zuko recognized him as the Fire Nation’s Minister of Energy, a friendly man who Zuko rather liked. 

“Good afternoon, Minister,” Zuko said back, waving. He remembered that Sokka had been scheduled to meet with the Minister just before lunch to put together a first draft of a lumber conservation bill. If the minister was finished, Sokka should soon be out as well. 

(Yes, Zuko memorized Sokka’s schedule every day. While Sokka struggled to keep track of his own appointments, Zuko had no problem storing both boys’ agendas in his head so he’d be able to drop in on Sokka every time he had a free few minutes.) 

“How was your meeting with the Ambassador?” Zuko asked him. 

The Minister smiled with embarrassment. “Ah, well, actually the Ambassador didn’t join us. But Minister Kaito and I were very productive. I think you’ll really like the final product!”

Sokka had missed the meeting? 

Alarm bells instantly started going off in Zuko’s head. _Stop that,_ he told himself, _I’m being calm for Sokka, remember? Remember how I’m super calm right now?_ Besides, it wasn’t exactly unusual for Sokka to get his schedule mixed up every now and then. 

“I’m…sorry to hear that, Minister,” Zuko responded, forcefully neutral. “I apologize for his absence. I’ll be sure to ask him to reschedule with you.” 

“Oh, no need. We’re almost finished!” The man smiled. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d love to retire to my office for lunch.”

“Of course.”

The minister bowed again and then continued along the path. 

So Sokka had missed his meeting. That happened sometimes. 

Zuko watched thoughtfully as the minister walked away, then looked out at the spread around him. By this point Sokka was about ten minutes late to their lunch. This was the same Sokka who claimed to be “literally starving” every time he was forced to wait until after noon to eat. Even if missing a meeting was normal, missing a meal wasn’t. 

Zuko whipped his head around to his guards. They looked like they knew where this was going. “Follow me.”

* * *

Zuko paused at the door of the Deputy Minister of Transportation’s office to compose himself. Even though he felt like bursting in and screaming at the man, there was no actual cause for alarm to justify that course of action just yet. 

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and took a few more deep breaths, then knocked. 

“Minister,” Zuko said, proud of how friendly his voice sounded as he opened the door to the office himself. As usual, one of his guards slid in behind him to secure the room before gesturing for Zuko to follow in behind him. 

Zuko heard a crash as apparently several items were dropped, or thrown? Zuko and his guards jerked at the sudden noise, but then heard a shocked voice call out “My Lord!” and realized the shocked Deputy Minister was bowed down so far behind his desk that he was barely visible. 

“Yes. Minister, it’s good to see you.”

The Deputy Minister stood up and glanced around his office anxiously. “You must excuse me for the mess! If I had known the Fire Lord would be visiting, I would have – I’ve never been visited by – ”

“It’s no problem, Minister,” Zuko told him. “You must excuse me for not visiting sooner. May I sit?”

“Of course!” The minister scurried to the chair across from his desk cleared off the giant stack of papers that were living there and dropping the stack to the ground behind him. “Please, sit.”

“Thank you, Minister,” Zuko said, accepting the invitation. “This will be quick. I would like a report of your meeting this afternoon.” He paused, trying to think of a plausible explanation as to why he suddenly cared enough to stop by in person. “You see, I’ve taken an interest in your plan to…” Zuko gritted his teeth, trying to phrase his question as politely as possible. “…import otter-penguins to domesticate for sledding. Please, tell me what happened when you met with the Ambassador today.” 

The Deputy Minister of Transportation smiled nervously. “Actually, my Lord, you are my first visitor of the day. The Ambassador unfortunately never called on me, so there was no meeting.” 

“You didn’t meet with Sokka today?”

“No, my Lord. But I am so happy to know I have the support of the Fire Lord behind my work! I assure you, this will revolutionize transportation in the Fire Nation! Let me show you the research I’ve been doing…” The Minister dove to the ground and began rifling through yet another stack of papers. 

“That won’t be necessary,” Zuko said quickly. He’d asked Sokka to take this meeting to shut this nonsense down, and now the man thought he had the support of the Fire Lord. Zuko stood. “I’ll be sure to arrange another meeting for you and the Ambassador. Now, I must be on my way.”

“Oh, of course,” the minister said, springing up and then sweeping low into another deep bow. “I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your visit. I will remember this day as long as I live.”

“…Thank you,” Zuko responded, always extremely uncomfortable with treatment like this. He turned and made his way back out to the hallway with his guards following behind. 

As the door swung shut, Zuko stood still for a moment, going over it all in his head. Sokka had missed his one o’clock with the Minister of Energy and his twelve o’clock with the Deputy Minister of Transportation. That was two hours of unaccounted for Sokka time, now verging on two and a half as Sokka remained absent for their lunch appointment. _This happens all the time,_ Zuko told himself again, although his heart was beginning to race. Just last week, Sokka had blown off his entire afternoon schedule to get in an argument with the Minister of Defense about his treatment of the Water Tribe. But that was before Azula joined the equation…

 _I'm freaking out over nothing. Probably._

Zuko went back over Sokka’s schedule. Besides the ministers Zuko had already spoken with, Sokka had been booked for an eleven o’clock with the Minister of Education. It couldn’t hurt to check there – maybe Sokka was still arguing with him after all these hours?

“Come on,” Zuko told his guards, leading the way hastily. 

But Zuko fared no better with the Minister of Education. “No, your Water Tribe Ambassador somehow didn’t find it worth his time to keep his appointment with me,” the Minister told Zuko, voice dripping with irritation. “After all the disrespect he has shown me, telling me our nation’s carefully crafted curriculum is _wrong,_ you would think he would bother to show up – ”

 _It is wrong,_ Zuko thought to himself, exasperated, but biting his tongue to hold himself back from engaging. “So just to be clear, you never met with Ambassador Sokka?”

“No. I should have known, trying to work with a _tribesman,_ next time I won’t waste my time – ”

“Enough.” Zuko’s voice was ice cold, a tone that never failed to silence a room. This man really had no idea how close Zuko was to exploding, did he? “As you know, Minister, Ambassador Sokka is one of my most trusted advisors and my future husband. I expect you to treat him with the respect he deserves. If you can’t find it in yourself to work with a ‘tribesman,’ I’ll find a Minister of Education who can.” 

The Minister looked at him, eyes alight with anger. But, seemingly remembering who he was talking to, he bowed his head stiffly. “Of course, my Lord. I…apologize for speaking out of turn.” 

“Good.” 

Zuko turned and left without a goodbye. 

So Sokka hadn’t attended a single meeting today. That…well, that wasn’t normal, as much as Zuko tried to convince himself that it was. He felt a sensation of dread gripping his heart as it began to pound faster and faster. Out in the main hallway, he looked left and right, trying to formulate his next move. 

“Hey!” 

About a hundred paces away, Zuko had spotted the one person who might be able to help him. A tiny woman in her sixties, bent over with age, perpetually clutching a clipboard to her chest. It was Sokka’s assistant, probably one of the most important people in the Nation. It was rare to see her without Sokka in tow. 

Zuko strode over to her. “Where is Sokka?” he demanded without introduction. 

But as the woman turned to face Zuko, he saw her face was shining with tears. 

_No no no no –_

“My Lord…I’m so sorry…” she sniffled. “I’ve searched all day but…the Ambassador is missing.” 

Zuko’s heart stopped. 

“Get me Akio and Ren. NOW!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The next chapter is a lot longer so it might take me a while to post, but if it seems too long I'll split it in half so i can post it sooner. I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading everyone's comments. I'm having so much fun writing this!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka wakes up.

Every part of Sokka’s body ached. 

His mind was still painfully sluggish from whatever chemical they’d used to knock him out. As he fought back into consciousness, the first bodily sensation Sokka’s hazy mind could put a name to was “bruised.” He felt as though he’d been tossed down a flight of stairs and struck at nearly every angle on his way to the bottom. With the way his day had been going so far, Sokka didn’t doubt that that was exactly what happened. 

The second word that Sokka’s brain supplied was “uncomfortable.” He could tell that he was sitting, with his legs splayed unnaturally in front of him and his back propped up against a wall. The surface was hard and cold, like stone. Based on the soreness at the base of Sokka’s skull, he could guess that his head had made painful contact with the wall more than once while he was out. Sokka also realized his hands were bound together in front of him, tightly wrapped by a thick chain. Around his mouth was a cloth gag. 

Sokka listened for the sound of another human’s breathing, but all he heard was his own. He opened his eyes, just barely, glancing around through his eyelashes to make sure no one was near him. 

He discovered that he was being held at the end of a massive rectangular room supported by a dozen colossal stone columns. The walls on either long side of the room were lined with several rows of raised seating. In the center of the room was a long, raised platform, about two feet off the ground and covered in tan tiles. Far up above Sokka, a portion of the ceiling was open, so he could see up into the hot afternoon sky. 

Sokka looked down, confirming that his hands were, in fact chained together. Rather than being tied or locked, the chains were actually slightly melted, as if someone had welded them together to form a permanent restraint. The chain trailed along the floor, and Sokka saw that the other end was wrapped around one of the many columns. He gave it a weak, experimental tug, but the chain held. Sokka found that in his cloudy state, he just didn’t have the strength in himself to see just how secure the thing was. 

Well then. If he couldn’t be strong, he’d have to be smart. 

Sokka cataloged what he knew. Those two guards were _definitely_ bad guys. They’d used some sort of poison to knock him out. Then they’d brought him here, a building he’d never seen before, that was who knows how far from the palace. Judging by the direction of the light trailing in, Sokka had been out for several hours already. No one had seen him get attacked. No one had come to rescue him. In all likelihood, no one knew where he was. 

Sokka groaned out loud. _Katara is going to give me so much shit for this._

“You’re awake.” 

Sokka felt himself shiver at the sound of her low, raspy voice. 

Azula slipped out from behind one of the columns at the midpoint of the long room. Sokka wondered if she’d just come in, or whether she had been lurking back there in the shadows this whole time. 

“Ambassador Sokka.” Azula said it slowly, like the words didn’t quite fit together. She leapt deftly from her hiding place onto the long, raised platform in the center of the room. Azula looked very different than the terrifying girl Sokka remembered. Now, her hair fell wildly down to her waist, and she was clad in the simple clothes of a Fire Nation commoner. She looked downright feral, with nothing in her appearance hinting that she might be of royal ancestry. Even her smile was…off. 

“It’s amusing how far the Fire Nation has fallen without me,” she mused, smirking. “I was always taught that the Fire Nation is the superior race. Now, a member of the _Water Tribe_ holds one of the highest offices in the Fire Nation.” Azula named Sokka’s people the way an exterminator might refer to a pest. “And soon, the royal family as well.” 

Sokka shot back at her with an extremely witty comeback. Well, he would have, but because of the gag in his mouth it came out as an extremely angry “ _Hhng!_ ” 

Azula just laughed. She strode thoughtfully away from Sokka, down the long platform. 

“Tell me, _Ambassador_. You claim to be a citizen of the Fire Nation now. You’re dressed up in our clothes, pretending you belong in the Fire Lord’s court, so surely you’ve learned something about our nation’s history. Tell me, do you know where you are right now?”

Sokka stayed silent. He had no idea. 

“I thought not.” Azula paused, looking up at the light streaming into the room. “This place is a symbol of everything the Fire Nation lost when he took what was _mine_. Respect. Discipline. Honor.” Azula no longer seemed to be talking to Sokka. “The so-called Fire Lord is destroying everything that makes the people of the Fire Nation great. Letting savages infiltrate our government. Letting our greatest monuments rot in ruin. Letting our greatest minds waste away in prison.” Azula’s voice was growing more and more angry as she spoke, and even from this far away, Sokka could see the sparks of lightning bouncing off of her fingertips. “Zuko is an embarrassment.”

Sokka’s blood boiled, instantly incensed at the sound of Zuko’s name wrapped up in Azula’s voice. How dare she? She didn’t know what the _fuck_ she was talking about. She didn’t know the first thing about Zuko. Sokka was pretty sure if he could bend, he would be shooting fire by now. Instead, he felt himself begin to shake with anger. 

Sokka made himself a promise. Azula would _never_ hurt Zuko again. 

Something jolted Azula from her reverie, and she turned to face Sokka again, voice honey-sweet. “But then again, I suppose that’s what sisters are for.”

She skipped lightly toward him. “My poor brother wasn’t bred for leadership, I’m afraid. He doesn’t realize what he’s doing to our nation. No matter. He just needs a little guidance.” 

Reaching the end of the platform, Azula hopped off and approached Sokka. Sokka knew he should feel afraid – wasn’t that what everyone had been trying to tell him earlier? – but instead he was seething. 

“You’re angry,” Azula smiled, as if she found his rage absolutely adorable. “Relax. I’m not going to hurt _him_.”

She reached Sokka’s body and kneeled down to get a better look at him where he sat against the wall. “Now, how do I send my brother an invitation to this little party?” She searched his face, and then her eyes glanced downwards, towards Sokka’s throat. She grinned, baring her teeth. 

“My goodness. You really have him brainwashed, don’t you?”

Azula reached a hand toward the necklace. Sokka jerked away reflexively from her reach, but in an instant there was fire burning within a centimeter of his cheek. 

“Now, now, _Ambassador_. I’m afraid you’ll have to cooperate with me. Don’t make this more painful for Zuzu than it has to be.” Letting the fire in her hand extinguish, Azula wrapped her hands around his throat and unclasped the necklace. Sokka shuddered at her touch, which was almost unbearably hot. 

Azula pulled the necklace to her face and examined it. She ran her thumb over its white disc thoughtfully. “So this is how the Fire Lord spends his time these days,” she said finally, disgusted. “Playing Water Tribe and making jewelry.”

She looked at Sokka and then back at the necklace. “Then again, this silly thing could be anyone’s. Zuzu needs to know it’s really you. I’ll just hold onto this for now.” Azula slid the necklace into her pocket. 

Sokka growled. The air against his bare neck felt…wrong. 

“Don’t worry, _Ambassador_. I have a better idea,” Azula said, standing up. 

Suddenly, she had an impossibly strong grip on his wolftail. She produced a knife and deftly cut the ponytail off with one smooth _swish_. Sokka jerked away again, but it all happened so fast that Azula had already hopped away, twirling the severed wolftail in her fingers playfully. 

“This will do. There’s no way my brother will be able to turn down _this_ invitation.”

* * *

Zuko had been pacing the floor of his room so long, he wondered how he hadn’t burned a hole through it already. 

With Sokka missing, the palace had gone on total lockdown. That meant Zuko, despite his vehement protests, was confined to his room with a small army posted outside of his door. His Chief of Police had promised to give him updates, but pleaded with Zuko not to get involved. Zuko needed to stay hidden, for the sake of everyone in the Fire Nation. _Protecting your life is more important than saving his_ , was what the Chief didn’t say, although Zuko heard it all the same. It disgusted him. 

The day was creeping into the late afternoon. And there was still no news. 

Zuko felt utterly useless. 

He took a break from his pacing to throw himself down on the edge of the bed and bury his head in his hands, another increasingly familiar position. He felt ready to explode, or burst into tears, or maybe both at the same time. His skin was prickling with a jumble of competing sensations between unbearable restlessness and overwhelming despair. It felt as though a swarm of buzzard wasps was drilling a nest in his chest. 

Some Fire Lord – some _fiancé_ Zuko was, he thought to himself. _He_ had personally picked those guards to watch over Sokka. _He_ had allowed Sokka to go about his day as usual instead of locking him up in his room. Now _he_ could do nothing but wait. He’d failed Sokka, the person he was supposed to protect above all else. Less than a day had passed since Azula’s escape and all the work Zuko had done to slowly reassemble his life felt as though it had come completely unraveled. 

This wasn’t like him. Not now, at least. Not anymore. Although he’d been temperamental as a teenager, the years Zuko had spent with his friends, and Sokka especially, had taught him more healthy ways of working through his anger. Zuko had worked hard; he’d earned his new emotional stability. And he had truly, foolishly believed that he had entered a phase in his life where no one could take that away from him. 

Azula made him feel like a child all over again. 

There was a loud knock at Zuko’s door. 

Zuko leapt up from his bed like a spring that had been coiled too tight for too long. “Come in,” he said loudly, trying to sound more authoritative than he felt. 

The door opened. “My Lord,” the Fire Nation’s Chief of Police said cautiously, entering the room. “A…package has been delivered. We believe it is intended for you.”

With a bow, the Chief held forward a small brown box. Zuko took it from him. The Chief unfolded and looked at Zuko expectantly. 

“Where did you get this?” Zuko asked, turning the box over in his hands. It was light, but there was definitely an object moving inside. 

“It was left on your…throne, my Lord,” the Chief told him. “With you here, the throne room was unguarded.” He looked frustrated. “I apologize, my Lord. No one saw who left it behind.”

Zuko stared at the package, feeling a sense of foreboding at the thought of the thing appearing out of thin air in his own throne room. He felt torn between tearing into the package in order to get to Sokka as quickly as possible, or leaving it unopened for fear of what it might contain. 

Zuko breathed. Slowly opened the box. Looked inside. 

.

.

.

(Physical warmth is an integral source of energy for a fire bender. More than any other element, a fire bender pulls his strength from within, drawing forth an internal heat so intense he can conjure fire from nothing but the temperature of his blood. There’s a reason that to incapacitate a fire bender, they throw him in a cooler until he can no longer locate the heat within himself to cast a spark. Without warmth, a fire bender has no power at all.)

Looking into the package, Zuko felt his body go cold as ice. 

.

.

.

“Thank you,” he said to the Chief evenly, in a voice just above a whisper.

“My Lord – ”

“You’re dismissed.”

The Chief looked ready to argue but, after a moment, he bowed swiftly and left the room. 

Zuko clutched the box, frozen in place. 

The package contained only two things. The first was a chunk of dark brown hair, bound together with a leather band, with a scent so familiar that it slammed into Zuko like a train as soon as he opened the box. The other was a tiny piece of parchment, marked with the pointed, flawless script that had earned Azula top marks in the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. She’d written only three words. Each one felt like another stab in Zuko’s gut. 

_Arena. Sundown. Alone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 points to whoever guesses where Sokka is right now. I think it's pretty obvious, so hopefully you can figure it out!
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading! I'm loving everyone's love for this story and I'm having a blast updating it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko takes a ride.

Zuko was pretty good at sneaking around. Three years of banishment will do that to a person.

And tonight, that sneaking was necessary. Azula had demanded that he come alone, and Zuko knew better than to defy her when she had Sokka in her clutches. And that wasn’t all; she somehow had the loyalty of some unknown quantity of his own staff. Who was to say that any allies Zuko brought along wouldn’t turn on him the moment they arrived? Inviting others might very well only serve to increase the scale of the attack against him. 

Despite the necessity of Zuko being unaccompanied, he knew his own security would never agree to it. In fact, he would significantly question the judgment of the head of his royal guard if he allowed the Fire Lord to leave the locked down palace, alone, to face off with a dangerous criminal at the time when his bending would be weakest. 

So, Zuko would have to be sneaky. 

Zuko stepped into his closet to get ready. Lining the left side of the room were long, red robes of varying levels of formality, the clothes that made up Zuko’s daily dress depending on the day. The right side, though, was Sokka’s. Half of the rack was black and red, the clothes Sokka typically donned to go to work in the Fire Nation’s palace. The clothes on other half were deep blue, lined with fur or leather, and well-worn. 

Zuko stepped over to Sokka’s side and pressed his face into one of the warm, sapphire garments there. With his eyes closed, Zuko could almost imagine that he was leaning against Sokka himself, breathing in his musky smell. But if Sokka were really there, he would wrap a strong arm around Zuko’s shoulders and tell him that everything was going to be okay. Instead, the hanging article of clothing gave way limply against Zuko’s weight. 

Taking in the scent one last time, Zuko stepped away and undressed. Instead of hanging his maroon robes, he allowed them to fall haphazardly to the ground around his feet. Tonight, he couldn’t be the Fire Lord. He was just Zuko.

From the depths of the hanging clothes, Zuko dug out something he never expected to wear again. It wasn’t very often the Fire Lord got to wear civilian clothes, and since he was no longer robbing carriages, he didn’t have much use for black. But holding out his old disguise, Zuko felt glad he’d kept it after all this time. He tugged on the dark clothes quietly, so as not to alert any of the guards on the other side of his bedroom walls that he was doing anything besides moping. 

Stepping into his bathroom, Zuko looked himself over in their mirror. If he wasn’t wound so tight, he might have found the sight a little comical. From the throat down he passed as a common rogue, a poor nobody who could drift through the shadows without eliciting a second glance from the unknowing passerby. But the face in the mirror was one of a Fire Lord. He looked proud and clean, with smooth black hair tied up under the gleaming golden headpiece that made his identity unmistakable. 

Zuko reached up, gingerly removed the headpiece, and allowed his hair to fall free around his jawline. 

The change was dramatic. The person looking back at him now seemed so…young. With his wild hair and the scared look in his eye, Zuko looked almost identical to his lost, sixteen-year-old self. He felt a twinge of sadness as he remembered the person he’d been the last time he had become the boy in black. Was it really this easy for him to regress?

Zuko left that uncomfortable thought in the bathroom and stepped out onto the balcony of his room. The sun was low. The hard, bronze glow of the sky felt eerie and foreboding. 

For the millionth time that day, Zuko thought about Sokka. 

What would his brave fiancé be doing now? Sokka was smart, well-trained, and tenacious. Zuko knew he would be using everything in his environment to his advantage. He was also willing to bet Azula had severely underestimated the capabilities of the non-bending Water Tribesman she’d captured. So, surely, no matter what Azula had planned, Sokka was holding his own against her. 

(Zuko tried not to let his mind drift to darker possibilities, or to the chunk of severed hair sitting in a box on his bedside table.)

As he watched, the burning sun grazed the tips of the mountains on the distant horizon. Sundown was approaching. Zuko breathed in, readying himself.

In a motion that was more confident than he felt, Zuko swung himself over the railing of the balcony and maneuvered himself into a shadow on the stone wall of the palace. Half sliding, half gripping at the small crevices in the rock, Zuko scurried down several stories, careful to be as silent as possible. He landed gracefully on the grass below with scarcely a sound at all. 

As he’d planned, he made his way discretely to the palace stables and let himself in the back door. The sight of a young man entering the structure drew little attention, and Zuko was able to approach the ostrich horses there without being noticed. The animal at the last stall looked at Zuko warily. 

“Hey there,” Zuko said softly. Although he’d ridden an ostrich horse halfway across the Earth Kingdom, he knew they were proud, and dangerous if provoked. “You look like you’re very good at your job. I need a ride, a fast one. Do you think you could help me out?”

The ostrich horse stared at him. 

Zuko glanced around and, finding a bridle and a set of reigns, brought it down from the wall and held it out humbly toward the animal. The ostrich horse sniffed at the restraint suspiciously and then bowed its head. Zuko carefully slid the bridle over its head and tightened the leather until it was taut. “Thank you,” Zuko whispered. 

Zuko let himself into the ostrich horse’s stall and placed his hand on its back, stroking it gently. “I’m getting on now,” he said, and then he did so, swinging himself onto the ostrich horse’s bare back. The animal didn’t make a sound, just shifted back and forth between its two feet, growing accustomed to the new weight. “Good, good,” Zuko murmured. “Let’s go.”

He guided the ostrich horse out of the stable, trying to look casual, as if he were taking the thing for a walk. Other workers in the area glanced in his direction but paid him no mind. Somehow, the Fire Lord passed pretty well as a stable boy. 

Once he was far enough away from the stables, Zuko urged the ostrich horse to a gallop. 

Together they traveled, passing through the outer walls of the palace compound, into the green countryside that separated the palace from the more tightly-packed regions of the capital. Zuko followed along the edge the main road, but instead of continuing straight into the city, he made a sharp left, toward the mountains. When he was a child, this road had been well-used and busy. Now, it was overgrown, dark, and empty of people. Zuko rode down its center for about a mile. It began to incline gradually, then grew more and more steep as the road weaved up into the mountains ahead. 

The cold air stung Zuko’s eyes as he flew face-first into the evening wind. He forced the thought of Azula from his brain. _Sokka’s up there_ , he reminded himself. There wasn’t anything else that mattered. 

And then Zuko had arrived. 

He yanked at the reigns of the ostrich horse, which slowed with an indignant whinny. Before them was a massive rectangular building, abandoned and neglected. The stone walls were being overtaken by untrimmed vines, and Zuko could see that cracks had formed in the painstakingly-carved marble structure. As a child, this had been a place of excitement and adrenaline; as he aged, a memory of pain and disappointment. Zuko hadn’t been back to this place since he was thirteen years old, and no member of the Fire Nation had been there since he had taken the throne. 

Zuko knew exactly why Azula had invited him here, alone at sundown. She believed bringing him back to the place where his life had permanently diverged from its predetermined path would throw him off enough that she might be able to distract him. She knew his ability to bend fire would be weakest as the sun went down. She believed that alone, he wouldn’t be able to best her. Zuko wasn’t sure yet if she was right. 

He dismounted. 

There was no need for stealth. Azula knew he was coming. Zuko wrapped the ostrich horse’s reigns around an untrimmed tree nearby, squared his shoulders, and walked toward the wide stone steps that lead up to the building’s ornately carved doors. He fortified himself as he walked. Breathing in, he located the heat living deep within his bones and felt his fingertips tingle, ready to light at a moment’s notice. There was no space in Zuko’s brain for fear or hesitation. There wasn’t space for much at all, so focused he was as he walked up those steps to the door and pulled it slowly open. 

That fortification slipped away in an instant as he stepped inside. 

Because there was Sokka, _his_ beautiful Sokka, alive and unharmed. But unlike in Zuko’s fantasies, Sokka wasn’t dueling Azula and winning. He was sitting weakly against the wall opposite to where Zuko had entered. From this far away, Zuko could just see the gag around his mouth and the chains pooled at his feet. 

Sokka sprung forward soundlessly at the sight of him. _He’s alive_ , Zuko thought, letting go of a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. A painful wave of emotions swept over Zuko, leaving him lightheaded. He was overwhelmed with relief to see that Sokka was awake, but gripped by apprehension when he realized Azula was nowhere to be seen. 

He took a step toward Sokka. 

“Zuko. So nice of you to join us.”

Azula was there so quick, it was impossible to tell where she’d emerged from – maybe the shadowy spaces between the columns, or even the skylight above. One second Zuko was alone with Sokka, and the next Azula was between them, standing unassumingly on the center of the stone platform. 

“Azula.” 

“Ah, so you do remember me,” Azula said, turning to him with faux shock. “You haven’t been to see me so long I assumed you forgot about me.”

“What do you want, Azula?”

“What do I _want?_ ” Azula repeated his question back at him and then threw her head back. The sound of her manic laughter echoed off the walls of the arena. As her laughter died, Zuko thought she might answer the question, but instead her grin gave way to a scowl. She turned away and strode toward Sokka. 

“What do you think of the venue I picked out, sweet Zuko?” she called out over her shoulder. When he didn’t answer, she went on, “I remember when we came here as children. What a sport that was. It was a special occasion when we got to come here, do you remember that?” She chuckled. “Almost ten years ago, this was the site of your greatest failure. I thought it fitting to celebrate that anniversary with an even bigger one.”

Zuko was only half listening to his sister. With the rest of his brainpower, he was gazing down toward Sokka, wondering how best to reach him without putting him at risk. In the waning sunlight, the columns lining the room were casting long shadows across the arena, distorting his view of the path down the sides of the platform. 

Azula had stopped talking, waiting for Zuko to react, but distracted as he was, he didn’t give her that satisfaction. She turned back toward him, glaring, and threw her arms apart. “Did you think outlawing the Agni Kai would restore your honor, Zuko? Because it didn’t. All you did was signal to the world that you’re too cowardly to face a challenge.” She began pacing toward him. “You’re weak, brother. And your weakness is destroying the Fire Nation.” 

“No,” Zuko said, surprised at how calm his voice sounded. “Weak is needing to prove you’re strong by publicly maiming a child.” He was egging Azula on now. He had a plan. 

“Oh Zuzu…” she walked toward him, the same path their father had taken all those years ago. Zuko saw sparks flickering around her fingertips. “After all these years, you still haven’t learned anything from this place, have you?” 

“I have learned more than you could possibly imagine.”

“I _doubt_ that,” she snarled. “Maybe today you’ll finally learn your lesson!” 

Azula reeled back, two fingers extended to send Zuko a blast of electricity. But he was already gone. 

Zuko darted right, putting the massive columns between himself and the platform where Azula stood. He heard a crackle of lightning just behind him, and then watched a splash of neon blue light up the space between two columns ahead of him as Azula struggled to locate him. As he sprinted, Zuko spotted her in the gaps, sending experimental shocks in his direction but just missing each time. 

Reaching the other end of the room, Zuko leapt from between the columns and exposed himself, sending a roaring blast of flame down the platform toward Azula. As orange light engulfed the room, Zuko fell to his knees beside Sokka. 

“Sokka,” Zuko said roughly, reaching anxiously toward Sokka’s face. “You – ”

“I’m fine, baby, I’m fine,” Sokka said instantly as Zuko removed the gag on his mouth. Eyes widening as he looked over Zuko’s shoulder, Sokka rolled backward and brought down a solid kick against Zuko’s stomach. Zuko landed on his ass a few feet away and watched a blue streak of lightning pass through the space his face had been less than a second earlier. 

“Sorry!”

Zuko was on his feet again, sending alternating blasts from each fist toward Azula as she leapt around on the platform. As one ball of fire landed particularly close to her untamed hair, she hopped away, between the columns to her right. 

Zuko dropped back to Sokka’s side. He grabbed the chain that was holding Sokka and took it in both hands. After a moment, the chain began to glow white with molten heat. 

“Zuzu, stop getting distracted,” Azula called out to him. She was skipping around now, from the audience seating to the shallow floor to the platform, zipping in and out between the columns, peaking between them to send a small flurry of lightning in Zuko’s direction. “Maybe this is why you were always such a bad student!” 

The chain was beginning to melt. Just a few more seconds of heat…

Azula landed a blast just next to Sokka’s shoulder. Zuko dropped the chain and spun round on his heels, shooting a column of flame from his wrists toward her. “Azula, we don’t have to do this!” he yelled to her. “Just tell me what you want!”

As Azula evaded, Zuko stood and sent another blast her way. That one seemed to singe the edge of Azula’s loose clothing, and she slid to the side with an angry huff. 

Zuko turned to face Sokka. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

And then Zuko’s back was to Azula.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [You can't tell me Zuko awkwardly talking to animals isn't canon.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq4RgTJMq_8)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka does what he has to.

Sokka saw what Zuko couldn’t. 

As Zuko turned to face him, Sokka watched as Azula’s face contorted with anger and she rose, shedding any hint of the playful energy she’d been exuding moments before. She planted her feet resolutely and drew her arm back. 

Sokka didn’t think. 

No, his brain wasn’t involved at all. Looking back, it would feel as though somebody else had taken over Sokka’s body and forced it to move. 

Automatically, like the beat of a heart, Sokka leapt to his feet. In one motion he yanked the chain so hard it broke apart where Zuko had partially melted it and bolted forward, throwing the whole weight of his body against Zuko. Zuko fell limply aside, and the streak of lightening that was intended for Zuko hit Sokka squarely in the chest. 

At first his body felt as though it were being pierced by a million pins and needles. Then it felt nothing at all. 

“Sokka!” a faraway voice screamed. 

_Zuko?_

Zuko was right above him, and then he was a hundred miles away, as Sokka fell deeper and deeper and deeper into some dark, bottomless infinity. 

He fell until it swallowed him whole. 

_Zuko…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally meant to be part of the previous chapter, but it felt better as a standalone. So today, here's two chapters for the price of one. 
> 
> Fight scenes are hard to write! I hope you're enjoying this one so far. New chapters coming soon!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko loses it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: brief and non-specified suicidal thoughts.

“ _Sokka!_ ” 

The name ripped from Zuko’s throat in a blend of a scream and a sob. 

From where he’d been thrown down to the ground, Zuko dashed over to Sokka, who was crumpled lifelessly against the stone floor. The sight slammed Zuko with a wave of nausea. Sokka’s limbs were piled unnaturally on top of each other, and there was a tiny plume of smoke rising from the spot in the center of his chest where his clothes had been burned away. He wasn’t moving. 

Zuko heard blood rushing in his ears. The world began to slip away around him. Something was building up in the pit of his gut, like violent white water rushing up against a tiny dam. Zuko drew in a heavy breath, and another, and another, trying to hold back the _something_ inside that was threatening to drown him… 

“…oops.” 

Zuko tore his eyes away from Sokka and faced Azula, who covered a guiltless smile with her hand. 

_Sokka is dead, and she’s still smiling._

And that’s when something in Zuko 

_snapped._

In an instant, the entire arena was engulfed with searing, blinding orange flames, so dense and hot the walls seemed to disappear around them. Vaguely, Zuko realized the fire was pouring out of _him_ from both arms as he stood and faced the person who put a bolt of lightning through Sokka’s heart. But it wasn’t Zuko, not really. Simultaneously, he felt as though he were burning alive and utterly, completely, furiously numb. His consciousness found itself walled off from his body; Zuko’s physical form was just infinite _fire._

The force ripping out of Zuko rushed faster and faster, whirling around them like wind until he could no longer see Azula or Sokka or his own hands outstretched in front of him. The fire was out of Zuko’s control now. He felt his rational mind fading away completely – what use did he have for it? There was no Sokka, so there would be no Zuko. Fire was taking him over and he was going to let it. 

Zuko was going to burn down this building and everything in it. 

As if it were from a thousand miles away, Zuko heard Azula’s shrill scream pierce the air. Then, through the rushing fire and Azula’s wails, Zuko heard something else. 

Almost imperceptible, so soft he might have imagined it, he heard a tiny agonized moan. 

_Sokka._

_Sokka is alive._

_Sokka is **ALIVE.** _

It was the only thought Zuko was capable of. 

Like waking up from a nightmare, Zuko felt his consciousness snap back into his body. The room had become so painfully hot that he could scarcely breathe. He tried desperately to stop the fire he was exuding, tried to staunch the flow that was still shooting out of him at full speed, but it was like trying to shove a typhoon into a tea cup. The fire wanted _out._

He heard Sokka let out another weak moan. 

_Sokka is alive Sokka is alive Sokka is alive_

With every nerve in his body, Zuko fought back. He brought the flames to a halt, shoving the pressurized molten heat in his body down and down into the pit of his gut. Then, with his entire body tensed in concentration, he felt every flame in the room, held them with his heart, and extinguished them.

The fire was gone.

The room was empty. The only sound was the echo of Azula’s laughter, bouncing off the walls even though she was nowhere to be seen. Some part of Zuko felt a rush of relief. Even in all that, he hadn’t melted his sister alive. Somehow, she’d escaped. 

Zuko fell to the ground, panting, every cell in his body spent, so drained he felt as though he might pass out immediately. But he couldn’t, not yet. 

Zuko dragged his body to where Sokka lay. Sokka’s eyes were still closed, but his limbs were twitching ever so slightly. Zuko’s eyes refused to take in the gaping, smoking wound on Sokka’s chest and instead gazed up toward Sokka’s face. 

_Oh, Sokka,_ Zuko thought miserably as he ran his thumb over a still-bleeding cut on Sokka’s cheekbone, one that must have appeared when Sokka crashed into the ground after saving Zuko’s life. For the first time, Zuko got a good look at the state Azula had left Sokka in. He could see that Sokka’s thick brown hair was cropped short, uneven, hanging freely from his head without his typical wolftail. Zuko felt a painful lurch in his stomach when he realized the engagement necklace that belonged on Sokka’s throat was nowhere to be seen. Azula had truly taken everything from him. 

Another tiny sound escaped Sokka’s barely parted lips. 

Although he could have stayed on the ground forever, Zuko forced himself to stand. He had to get Sokka back to the palace immediately, before… 

Zuko didn’t let his mind go there.

He placed his hand against the chain still wrapped around Sokka’s wrists. After a few moments of heat, it melted away, letting Sokka’s arms fall loosely to his sides. Then, as gently as he could, Zuko slid one arm under Sokka’s neck and the other beneath his knees. Pulling together every ounce of strength left in his bones, Zuko gathered Sokka against his chest and then lifted him up, clutching Sokka tight in his arms like a bride on her wedding night. Zuko would never be able to explain how he did it – Sokka was heavier than Zuko, and Zuko had never been able to sweep Sokka off his feet like Sokka could do to Zuko. But somehow, tonight, Zuko was strong enough. 

As fast as he could while his straining legs threatened to give way beneath him, Zuko carried Sokka, out of the Agni Kai arena, over to where the ostrich horse was still tethered outside. 

Zuko approached the animal. “Help me,” he said weakly as he felt his legs prepare to collapse under Sokka’s dead weight. 

The ostrich horse seemed to understand. It knelt, bringing its back low to the ground for them to climb on top. Zuko slung one of Sokka’s limp legs awkwardly over the animal’s back and then climbed on behind him. Now, both of them sat atop the ostrich horse, with Sokka in front and Zuko clinging to him from behind. In any other context it might be romantic, but now Sokka’s unconscious body was pressed lifelessly against Zuko in a way that crushed all the air out of him. 

Sokka couldn’t be expected to stay on the ostrich horse like this. Zuko glanced around, remembered his outfit and untied the sash that held his long-sleeved shirt closed. The shirt fell open, exposing his pale chest to the moonlit night. Zuko took the sash and tied it tightly around his and Sokka’s waists, so that the two were bound flush together on the ostrich horse’s back. Zuko gathered the reigns in one hand and wrapped his free arm around Sokka’s shoulders, careful to avoid his smoldering chest wound. 

Sokka’s head flopped backwards onto Zuko’s shoulder. The press of Sokka’s cheek against his neck made Zuko’s heart twist painfully, and without thinking he leaned forward and pressed a long kiss into Sokka’s shoulder. 

“You’re going to be okay,” Zuko promised himself. 

Then he yanked at the reigns. The ostrich horse began to run. 

Together they flew down the mountain, Zuko clutching Sokka’s body for dear life to keep him from falling off. This time, Zuko knew the tears streaming from his eyes weren’t coming from the icy wind. He led them down the mountain, traveling in the center of the road, no longer caring about who might see them there. As their route merged with the main road, Zuko urged the ostrich horse to go even faster. 

Instead of sneaking around the back again, Zuko rode directly toward his palace’s gates. With his hair blown away from his face, revealing his unmistakable scar, the palace guards recognized the Fire Lord instantly and began shouting to their colleagues on top of the walls to open the gates. As Zuko approached, the doors began to swing slowly open, creating a gap wide enough that the ostrich horse could pass through without slowing its breakneck speed.

As he cleared the palace walls, Zuko shouted a command to anyone who could hear it. 

“Get Katara. _**NOW!**_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [EDIT: THIS SCENE NOW HAS FANART!](https://delfisdoodles.tumblr.com/post/626571246578122752/hes-just-napping-protective-by-crosspin-please) Please appreciate this incredible piece of artwork by [gracedbill](https://gracedbill.tumblr.com/) / [delfisdoodles](https://delfisdoodles.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Thanks again for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far. Don't worry, I have some great Katara moments for you coming soon!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara does what she can.

Somehow, word of his return had reached the palace before Zuko did. When he finally arrived, yanking at the reigns and bringing the ostrich horse to a skidding halt, the couple was bursting out of the doors to meet him. Katara’s face was expression was somewhere between furious and hysterical; Aang just looked terrified. 

“Help me,” Zuko cried out to them desperately, untying the sash that was holding Sokka against him. Aang and Katara were beside him instantly, helping to gently slide Sokka’s body off the ostrich horse by his legs while Zuko lowered him carefully by his shoulders. Once Sokka was secure in Katara and Aang’s grip, Zuko jumped off after him. 

“Do you have water?” Zuko asked feverishly, looking at Katara as she helped lay Sokka onto the ground. She had to start healing Sokka _now_ if it was going to make any difference. 

“Zuko, not here,” she told him as she quickly took stock of Sokka’s limp form. “We have to get him to the hospital before I do anything.”

“Are you kidding?” Zuko clenched his fists, trying to hold himself back from snapping at her. “Katara, it’s already been – ”

“I know!” she shot back. Neither wanted to hear the end of that sentence. It had been, what? Five, ten minutes since Sokka had been hit? Who knew how effective healing could even be at this point? 

Katara breathed in, and Zuko could tell that like him, she too was trying to contain her emotions for Sokka’s sake. “That’s why we have to get him in a sterile environment. The risk of infection is already high enough.”

She looked up at Zuko again, eyes pleading with him. 

“Fine,” he snapped, and he knelt to lift Sokka into his arms once more. Again, he was shocked at how easy it was for him to cradle Sokka against him. For a fleeting moment, Zuko wondered if it was because Sokka was actually becoming dangerously light, as if the blood flowing steadily from his chest had already taken pounds off his body weight. Zuko chased the thought away and clutched Sokka’s body closer. 

He led the way as they raced to the hospital wing. Thankfully, it was near the palace entrance and so rarely used that it was almost sure to be empty. Seeing them running through palace hallways, Zuko’s staff seemed to instinctively know better than to interfere. Any person they passed was wise enough to throw their body out of the way and clear a path for them. 

In the back of his mind, Zuko imagined how the sight must make his staff feel – their Fire Lord, dirty and damaged and dressed like a commoner, with a wild look in his eyes that Zuko hoped was terrifying but more likely just seemed terrified. He wasn’t very Lord-like right now. In fact, he scarcely felt alive at all, tethered to the physical world only by the contact between him and Sokka’s featherlight body. There were so many emotions churning around inside of him – fear, guilt, confusion, sadness. But beneath it all, Zuko could feel a steady current of white-hot fury. Zuko pushed that last one deep, deep down; his anger would have to wait. For now, the only thing he could allow himself to feel was _Sokka._

Arriving at the hospital wing – which was empty, as expected – Zuko approached one of the shallow tubs that lined the room and laid Sokka’s body inside, hastily but gingerly. Katara, arriving at the tub just behind Zuko, flicked her wrist, and water from deep underground began filling the tub from an attached faucet. As the water level rose, Sokka’s singed red clothes began to grow heavy with wetness. Before it could get too soaked, Zuko grabbed what remained of Sokka’s shirt and incinerated it with a puff of smoke. 

“Oh my _god._ ” 

Aang said what they were all thinking as the three saw the full extent of Sokka’s injuries for the first time. The chest wound was almost a foot in diameter, but with smaller lesions snaking off toward Sokka’s neck and his stomach. It was an uneven pattern of sticky red and charred black, with some areas bleeding freely and some burnt too badly to bleed. It was impossible to tell how deep the damage went. 

Zuko felt like he was about to vomit. But he couldn’t look away from Sokka. 

Aang turned to him as Zuko took a shuttering breath, trying to hold back the sick feeling in his stomach. “Zuko, what happened to him?” he asked, eyes wide. 

“Azula,” Zuko told Aang, his voice even more hoarse than usual. He found that he couldn’t even bring himself to look at Katara. How many times had he promised her that he would do everything in his power to keep Sokka safe? That he would give his life to protect Sokka? Earning Katara’s trust as Sokka’s lover had been nearly impossible, and yet over the years Zuko had slowly succeeded, and Katara had grown to accept Zuko into their family. Now, on top of everything else, Zuko felt overcome with a wave of shame. He had not only failed Sokka, but also Katara. 

He looked back down at Sokka as he told them the rest. “She was aiming for me. But Sokka…he…” 

Zuko heard his own voice break. He couldn’t finish that sentence. He couldn’t relive that memory. But he knew he’d said enough. The others knew Sokka; they could envision exactly how he had reacted to Zuko’s life being threatened. 

“It wasn’t your fault, Zuko,” Aang said quickly, putting his hand on Zuko’s shoulder. But Aang couldn’t be more wrong. It was _all_ Zuko’s fault: that Azula had escaped, that she’d kidnapped Sokka, that she’d split his chest wide open, and that he might never open his eyes again. 

“Katara…?”

The three flew to Sokka’s side at the sound of his voice. This was the first he’d spoken, but he formed the word so weakly that the sound felt like a spike of ice through Zuko’s heart. 

“Yes, Sokka, I’m here,” Katara managed quickly, and Zuko could tell that she was struggling not to cry. “You’re going to be okay, I promise. I’ve got you.”

Sokka didn’t really respond, just moaned softly again. 

“Sokka?” Zuko tried, cupping a hand to Sokka’s face to turn it in carefully his direction. Sokka’s eyes were fluttering open and shut ever so slightly, but they didn’t seem to land on any one spot in particular. Zuko didn’t know quite how to feel. He was relieved that Sokka was awake again, apparently with some awareness of his surroundings. At the same time, seeing Sokka so barely functional was terrifying. 

The water had risen to the level of Sokka’s chest, so now he was submerged with his pants and shoes still on while only his elevated face broke the surface of the water. Aang was pulling up a chair so Katara could sit and concentrate; Zuko grabbed one for himself and scooted up next to Sokka on the other side of the tub. Katara began to breathe evenly, gathering the water on Sokka’s chest. 

“Okay, Sokka,” Katara said, although it was far from obvious that Sokka could understand what she was saying. “I’m going to start healing you now.”

Zuko had some experience being struck by lightning. He had an idea of what was coming next. 

“Sokka, hey, baby, look at me,” Zuko said, grabbing Sokka’s hands and trying to sound calmer than he felt. Although it was impossible to tell, Sokka seemed to hear him. His eyes opened and landed unfocusedly on Zuko’s face. “This is going to hurt a little, okay? Just squeeze my hands.”

Katara held her hands over Sokka’s chest and closed her eyes in concentration. The water began to glow blue. 

“ _ **AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_ ”

Sokka’s scream ripped through the room, his body arching off the bottom of the tub as Katara continued to heal him. His nails dug so hard into Zuko’s skin that he felt himself begin to bleed. 

“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay,” Zuko promised him, and he felt tears begin to stream down his face. He stroked Sokka’s hands with his thumbs and wished for the millionth time that Azula had struck him and not Sokka. It couldn’t be more painful than seeing Sokka like this. “Just hold onto me. That’s right. You’re so strong, Sokka.”

After what felt like forever, Katara finally withdrew her hands, and Sokka fell back, panting. “Okay. It seems like it’s working,” she told Zuko and Aang. “That definitely helped a little.”

“That’s good!” Zuko said. Before he could stop it, a flicker of hope bloomed in his chest. 

“Yeah. It’s _so_ deep, but I – I think he might have a chance.” 

Katara’s careful phrasing wasn’t lost on anyone in the room. Zuko swallowed the hope back down again. 

Katara looked down at her brother. “I’m sorry, Sokka. I have to keep going,” she said mournfully. She sighed and then lifted her hands to Sokka’s chest again. The water began to glow blue once more. 

Sokka’s agonized screams echoed off the walls of the hospital wing, even more pained than before. The sound cut through to Zuko’s bones. 

“Sokka, hey, Sokka, you’re okay, look at me,” Zuko murmured mindlessly, trying to do anything to distract Sokka from what Katara was doing. Sokka seemed to hear him, rocking his head to the side to latch his eyes onto some part of Zuko’s face. The scream died down, and became more of a soft whimper. “That’s good, baby, that’s so good, not much longer now,” Zuko told him, glancing over at Katara and hoping it was true. 

She seemed to be taking Sokka’s tolerance as a sign to step up the force of her healing, and Zuko watched as the ball of blue light around Sokka’s chest grew brighter. Sokka yelped. 

“Just look at me,” Zuko told him, moving his face so close to Sokka’s that there was nothing else he could have looked at. Zuko wondered how much Sokka’s eyes could comprehend, as they drifted from Zuko’s hair to his scar to his lips and back up to his eyes, never quite focusing on one thing. “I’m here, baby. You’re doing so well. You’re so strong. Just hold my hands.” And Sokka did. 

Katara upped the intensity again, and Sokka gasped, gripping Zuko’s hands with white knuckles, his body tensing so hard Zuko was worried he might hit his head back against the tub. Zuko could only continue to babble and squeeze Sokka’s hands almost as tightly as they held his. “It’s okay, you’re okay, you’re doing great. I’ve got you baby, just look at me, that’s it, you can do this, I’m right here, I love you so much…”

Then Katara ceased, and Sokka fell limply against the bottom of the tub again. He released Zuko’s hands suddenly from his grip. After a moment of confusion, Zuko realized Sokka had fallen fully unconscious again. That was probably for the best. 

“I think that’s all he’ll be able to handle for tonight,” Katara said regretfully. 

They all looked down at Sokka. The memory of his screams rang in their ears. 

Perhaps knowing how afraid Zuko was to ask the question, Aang stepped in and said softly, “How is he?”

“He’s okay, actually,” Katara said. “It was bad, but…I think he’s gonna pull through this.” She looked between her brother and Zuko. “You got him back here in time, Zuko,” she told him meaningfully. _You didn’t fail him_ , Zuko knew she was trying to say, but he didn’t believe her. 

For the first time, Zuko noticed that tears were streaming down Katara’s face. She looked down at Sokka and took one of his hands in hers. “It’s up to you now, Sokka,” she whispered only to him. “You’re strong. You can fight this.”

Zuko looked down at where Sokka lay still in the water. Now that much of the blood had rinsed off in the water and the semi-healed wound on his chest was beginning to scar over, his appearance horrified Zuko slightly less. Still, his normally dark skin looked almost dangerously pale, and he looked oddly small and breakable. Something felt so entirely wrong about seeing Sokka laid out like this, completely incapacitated and unable to jump up and fight back like he usually did. Sokka was a warrior. He was the strongest person Zuko knew. It hurt to see how Azula had utterly wrecked him. 

_No_ , Zuko reminded himself. _Not Azula. Me. I did this._

“Katara,” Zuko heard Aang say. “We should close him up.”

“Right,” Katara sniffled, composing herself. “Would you bring me some bandages?” She moved her hands again, and the water around Sokka began to drain away. Zuko watched as Sokka’s wet pants began to cling to his legs, and Sokka began to shiver slightly despite still being unconscious. Aang brought over what Katara had asked for, and the two began to wrap Sokka’s torso, covering up the horrible red spot that made Zuko’s eyes burn. 

“What should I do?” he asked Katara helplessly as he watched the couple work together to lay down the bandages. 

“Nothing, Zuko. Just…be here for him.”

So, he was useless. 

Zuko watched them work, and watched Sokka shake as the cold air hit his wet skin. That, at least, was something the firebender could help with. 

Zuko stood and walked over to the cabinet where Aang had found the supplies. It was full of all sorts of vials and bottles and instruments, most of which Zuko couldn’t have named. He bent down, to the lower shelves, where folded white fabric was piled neatly in tight stacks. Thumbing through, Zuko found what he was looking for and brought it back over to where Aang and Katara were finishing with Sokka’s bandages. 

Setting down the pile of white cotton in his hands, Zuko began to peel off the clothes that still clung wetly to Sokka’s lower body. Katara turned away as Zuko gently removed Sokka’s pants and then his soaking undergarments. He grabbed a towel and began to dab Sokka’s skin carefully, drying away the drops of water that glistened on his now-naked body. Katara or Aang probably could have bent the water away, but they stayed back, allowing Zuko to feel as though he could contribute _something_ besides his own anxiety. 

Tossing aside the damp towel, Zuko picked up the starchy white hospital gown he’d located. “Will you help me?” Zuko said, turning to Aang and hoping Sokka would forgive him for exposing his nude body like this. Aang nodded wordlessly and slid his arms beneath Sokka, lifting his torso slightly off the surface of the tub. Zuko slid both of Sokka’s arms into the gown, and then wrapped his arms around Sokka’s body gingerly to tie the strings, first around his nape and then his waist. Together, they lowered him back down. 

Zuko grabbed the last piece of fabric, a woven white blanket. He lay it over Sokka’s body and tucked it under his feet. Sokka seemed to stop shaking, and now his body lay still. Zuko thought he almost looked like he was sleeping. But, lying flat on his back and wrapped up in white, Sokka’s figure was unmistakably reminiscent of a body in a funeral shroud. 

Zuko shook that thought from his head. But just to be sure, he laid his hand on Sokka’s wrist, feeling the pulse that still beat there unwaveringly. 

“ _Oh my god!_ ” 

Katara screamed shrilly, as if she’d been shocked. 

“His _hair_ ,” she said, and Zuko realized she was noticing it for the first time. Katara touched Sokka’s head where his brown hair stuck out from his head, short and jagged, no longer long enough to tie up. 

“I know,” Zuko said painfully. In the fight to keep Sokka alive, Zuko had all but forgotten about the horrible things Azula had done to Sokka beyond the wound that was now covered up by his hospital gown. 

“Zuko, you don’t understand,” Katara said, beginning to sound hysterical. “He can’t lose his wolftail. He _can’t_.” She looked between Zuko and Aang, opening her mouth and then closing it again, as if searching for words. “Back home, if the chief cuts off your wolftail, it means you’ve committed one of the worst crimes there is. It means you’ve betrayed the tribe. A warrior with no wolftail, it’s…it’s the most shameful thing you can be.”

“I do understand, Katara,” Zuko said, hearing his volume rising. What did Katara think? That he still hadn’t bothered to learn a thing about Sokka or his people after all this time? “Azula, she…sent it to me. His wolftail. She wanted me to come after him.” 

“So you knew? You knew she had Sokka?” Katara rounded on Zuko now. “And yet somehow you still thought it was a good idea to go up there alone? Without any backup? You’re the Fire Lord, for god’s sake, you’ve got a whole army and you didn’t think to invite them? You risked my brother’s life!”

“She told me to come alone – ”

“So now you do everything Azula tells you to?” Katara said, jumping to her feet and facing Zuko. “Never mind. Of course you do. I don’t know why I asked.”

“Katara, she’s infiltrated my staff. I don’t know how many she has. My own guards kidnapped him!” 

“So this _is_ your fault then!” 

“ _Guys!_ ” 

Aang broke in with a sharp yell. It was a little scary. Zuko was so used to thinking of Aang as a child, and yet now his voice was that of an authoritative…well, man. Zuko realized that he was standing now, that he and Katara were both yelling across the tub without any regard for Sokka’s sleeping body between them. 

“Katara,” Aang said, putting a hand lightly on her shoulder. “There’s no point yelling at him. This isn’t Zuko’s fault. It’s Azula’s.”

Katara took a shuttering breath. She closed her eyes and then looked angrily back toward Zuko, but he felt like she wasn’t really looking at him anymore. “You’re right, Aang,” she said finally. She lowered her eyes to Sokka, putting her hand on his forehead. “Azula did this.”

Zuko watched a strange series of emotions pass rapidly across Katara’s face. She looked ready to burst with rage, but then her eyes flicked almost imperceptibly toward Aang. Her face went suddenly expressionless. 

“I’m tired,” Katara announced evenly, her tone entirely different than it had been a moment earlier. “I’m going to sleep. I’ll give Sokka another healing session in the morning.”

“Of course,” Aang said understandingly. “You did a great job tonight. You deserve some rest! Zuko and I will stay and look after Sokka.”

“Thanks, Aang,” Katara said with a small smile. She glanced pointedly at Zuko, but said nothing, looking down instead at her brother. “Good night, Sokka. Stay strong.”

She stroked his hair for a few more moments, then turned and left. 

Zuko fell back into his chair. He took Sokka’s limp hand once more and gazed down at him. He appreciated that Sokka looked almost peaceful like this, although Zuko knew that couldn’t be the truth. He wanted nothing more than to climb into bed with Sokka and hold him tight until he awoke again. 

But he knew he couldn’t. 

Aang was right. Azula did this. Azula had ruined Sokka. Regardless of the role Zuko had played, he had to stop her before she could bring any more harm to the people he loved. He owed Sokka that much. 

Zuko leaned down and pressed a long kiss into Sokka’s forehead, his free hand stroking Sokka’s cheek. “I love you,” he whispered against Sokka’s skin, hoping that the sound of his voice could somehow pierce Sokka’s deep sleep. He cursed himself for not telling Sokka this earlier, or more often, or every minute of every day. He hoped Sokka would hear him say it again soon. 

Pulling away, his eyes fell to Sokka’s bare neck. The sight made Zuko ache. The stolen engagement necklace seemed so unimportant compared to keeping Sokka alive, and yet it felt like in taking the necklace, Azula had stolen their entire future together. Zuko felt his blood threatening to boil at the thought. _I’m going to bring it back to you, Sokka. I promise. I won’t let her take anything else from you._

Zuko committed the image of Sokka to memory, tucking it away deep in his heart to fuel him as he did what he knew he had to. Then he leaned in, inhaling Sokka’s scent one last time before forcing himself to go. “I’m so sorry I have to leave you. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

After a few more moments, he straightened. “Aang,” he said, turning to his friend, who had politely turned away as Zuko whispered to Sokka. “I’m no help here,” he said honestly. “While Sokka’s sleeping, I think I need to get some sleep too. Would you mind staying here with him?”

“Of course not, Zuko,” Aang said, and suddenly he was there, crushing Zuko with a painful hug, so tight that Zuko felt a little guilty for lying to him. “It’s been such a long day for you. You should definitely get some rest. Sokka will be fine, and you’ll be fine, and everything is going to be fine, okay?” 

Zuko wasn’t like Aang. Optimism didn’t come easily to him like that. He wished it did. “Okay,” he said quietly, patting Aang on the back. “Thanks.” 

Aang pulled away from him and smiled earnestly. “Good night!”

“Night.” 

After casting one last glance at his sleeping fiancé, Zuko walked out of the hospital wing. But instead of heading upstairs to their room, he went down, down toward the high security prison beneath the palace. The fiery rage he’d held back as they kept Sokka alive was bubbling up again, making his blood run hot and his heart beat loud in his ears. Finally, he could act on it. 

It was time for Zuko to finish what Azula had started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience! Sorry this chapter took so long, I had so many ideas and went through so many drafts until I felt like I got this scene perfect. I hope you enjoyed the final product!
> 
> To those who haven't seen Legend of Korra, in that era it seems like waterbenders frequently use [tubs of water for healing.](https://youtu.be/MZKD3A926Cw?t=136) Even though I don't think any appear in the ATLA universe, I thought it made sense that the royal palace would be equipped with similar technology. EDIT: Thank you to the commenter who pointed out that the Northern Water Tribe uses a similar tub in ATLA, I had completely forgotten!
> 
> I hope you'll continue to be patient as I finish the next chapter. As you can probably tell, it's about to go down!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko takes a trip.

Torture was illegal in the Fire Nation. 

Outlawing cruel and unusual punishment had been one of Zuko’s acts as Fire Lord. After learning the way his uncle had been treated while imprisoned, not to mention experiencing some of the horrible tactics himself at the Boiling Rock, Zuko had easily concluded that such practices had no place in his regime. 

That’s why Zuko didn’t torture Akio and Ren. He just made sure his guards were very, very, _very_ persuasive. 

* * *

Azula’s plan had been surprisingly simple. First, kill Sokka. Second, run. 

After much coaxing, Akio and Ren had let spill that Azula had a getaway ship lined up before she had even escaped. Once Sokka was disposed of, she planned to sail to the far Eastern tip of the Fire Nation, where certain rebellious cells were still wary of Zuko and nostalgic for his father’s reign. There, she would bide her time and build up her forces until she was powerful enough to face Zuko again. 

Zuko’s stomach twisted painfully as he listened to them recount Azula’s words. He was scarcely bothered by her intent to dethrone him, or the existence of organized opposition in the distant corners of the Fire Nation. He had always known his coronation would be unpopular with his father’s most loyal supporters, and taking advantage of that unrest was to be expected from Azula. No, what sickened him was the thought that Azula not only knew who Sokka was, but that she was also somehow aware of his extreme importance to Zuko. She must have spent hours interrogating Zuko’s guards about Sokka and ruminating on how best to eliminate him. 

If Zuko could, he would have bent time and space so Azula and Sokka could never exist in the same universe at all. The idea that Sokka’s name had ever left Azula’s lips revolted him. 

After extracting all the information he could, Zuko left the prison. It was nearing two hours since Azula had fled from the Agni Kai arena. If she really did have a boat already lined up, that meant she had a huge lead on Zuko already. Now, a smarter Zuko might have taken this time to gather his generals and formulate a plan of attack. A more well-rested Zuko might have decided to put a much-needed night’s sleep between himself and his next encounter with his sister. A calmer Zuko might have taken at least a moment’s pause to calculate his next move. 

But this Zuko was neither smart, nor well-rested, nor calm. This Zuko had just spent the night dragging the love of his life back from the brink of near-certain death. This Zuko didn’t have time to sit back and wait. This Zuko had to get his hands on the person who dared touch Sokka and he had to neutralize her. 

He didn’t bother to head back to his room. His singed, dirty black clothes would have to do. Breathing deep, he attempted to collect himself as he wound his way through the eerily empty halls of the locked down palace. He had to be clear-headed when he faced his sister, he told himself as he neared a corner in one of the hallways. He had to – 

“ _ **OW!**_ ” 

Rounding the corner, Zuko slammed someone who was moving with as much forceful determination as he was. Before he could react, he felt his wrists freeze, literally, and an invisible force slammed him up against the wall and pinned him a foot off the ground with two icy restraints around both of his hands. 

Adrenaline surged in Zuko’s veins. He looked down, hands heating rapidly as he prepared to rain fire on the person who dared get in his way tonight. The terrifying individual who had managed to incapacitate him in less than a second was…

…Katara?

“Oh my god, Zuko, I’m so sorry,” she said, her menacing expression melting into one much more apologetic. She dropped her outstretched hands, and the ice fell away with them, letting Zuko slide back to the ground with a clumsy thud. 

“Do I want to ask how many other members of my staff you’ve done that to tonight?” Zuko said warily, rubbing his wrists where the cold of the ice still stung him. 

“Don’t worry, you’re the first person I’ve run into,” she said as she bent the water back into her pouch. Once he regained his bearings, Zuko noticed that she too was clad in all black. They looked a bit like a matching set, two furtive young fighters sneaking around and doing exactly what they weren’t supposed to. 

“So…” Zuko began. The answer to his question seemed obvious, although he didn’t want to expose his own motives unnecessarily without confirmation that hers were the same. “Where are you headed?”

“Zuko.” Katara looked up at him, her jaw set once more with angry determination. “You know I have to go after Azula. I’m not letting her get away with what she did to Sokka.” Her voice broke, and Zuko knew they were both thinking back to the piercing sound of Sokka’s screams as they echoed through the hospital wing. 

“I know,” Zuko said quietly, his voice burning. He knew so painfully well what Katara was talking about. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to rest until Azula was stopped. Until he did what he should have done before Sokka had been nearly killed. 

Katara looked like the only thing holding her back from crying was the pure force of her rage. Zuko sighed shakily, feeling her anger and his own guilt wash over him again. “Katara, I am so, so sorry. I never should have let this happen. Keeping Sokka safe is more important to me than anything else in the world. I – ”

The words were squeezed out of his throat by a sudden, suffocating hug. “I know, Zuko,” Katara said into his chest. “I shouldn’t have said what I said earlier. I know none of this was your fault. I know you do everything for Sokka.” Her breath hitched as she said his name, but she went on, her voice muffled by the fabric of Zuko’s shirt. “You’re part of the family now.” 

Something bloomed in Zuko’s chest at the sound of that. He gingerly wrapped his arms around her shoulders and returned the hug. Their relationship had certainly had its ups and downs over the years, and as he felt a weight lift from his shoulders, Zuko realized that he had been terrified that this was just the incident to send Katara’s trust in him back to square one. To hear Katara call him family assuaged some disquiet in Zuko’s heart he hadn’t acknowledged was there. 

Still, what was the point of family besides teaming up to get revenge? Their night was far from over. 

“Now,” Katara said, pulling away after a moment, “please tell me you’re sneaking around your own palace for the same reason I am.”

Zuko couldn’t help it; he felt his hardened expression crack with a grim smile. “Obviously.”

“Great. Let’s go kick some ass.”

* * *

They sped out of the palace together, out of the entrance and down the path that lead toward the docks. Zuko’s subjects didn’t recognize him, or if they did, they knew better than to try and stop him when he looked ready to incinerate the next person who crossed his path. 

As they reached the docks, Katara turned to him. “So, do you have a boat?”

Zuko looked out at the ships harbored along the shore. In the glow of the moonlight refracting off of the choppy water, he could tell they were of varying size and purpose, but all bore the same proud symbol: Fire Nation royal insignia. 

“I think…I think technically, these are all my boats,” Zuko told her, slightly bewildered at the words as he said them. After all this time, it was still difficult to wrap his head around the vast amount of power that came with his position. It was shockingly easy to forget that with a few words, he could deploy an entire navy on a moment’s notice.

“Azula’s been traveling for a while already. We’re going to need something fast.” Katara scanned the selection before them. Zuko remembered that she probably knew a lot more about sailing than he did. Finally, Katara pointed one out, a ship on the smaller side with dark red sails. “Let’s take that one.”

 _Easier said than done,_ Zuko thought. Although every royal ship was technically under his control, that didn’t necessarily mean that every ship was literally under his control. He struggled for a moment, wondering the best way to approach the situation. It wasn’t as if he could just walk up to the captain like _hello, Fire Lord Zuko here, can I borrow this for a few hours?_

On the other hand…

Katara was tugging at his arm. “Come on, Zuko, we don’t have time for this!”

“Okay,” he said cautiously, following her as they ran over to the ship she’d picked out. While they moved, Zuko subconsciously squared his shoulders and shifted his posture, subtly transforming himself to fit the image of a true Fire Lord. If every emotion in his body hadn’t been eating him alive, he might have found it a little comical. After all those years he spent sneaking around and lying about his identity, catching Azula now depended on convincing these people he was…well, himself. 

Katara was racing straight up the gangway, so Zuko followed close behind. Reaching the deck, they were faced with a crew of about eight Fire Nation sailors, each clearly busied with taking the ship apart for the night. 

“What do you think you’re doing here?”

One of the sailors – the captain, based on the ornate curves of his helmet and the insignia on his outer arm – stepped forward, hand immediately coming forward to produce a small flame. “This is a government vessel. I’d suggest you find someone else to rob.”

Katara turned to Zuko. 

_Oh, right._ This was his part. 

Zuko cleared his throat. “Gentlemen. This ship is needed to apprehend a dangerous fugitive. As your Fire Lord, I respectfully request that give us control of this of this vessel.”

He was met with…chuckles. 

“Oh, the Fire Lord, is it?”

“If he’s the Fire Lord, then I’m the Earth King’s bear.”

Katara looked to him desperately, but Zuko had expected this. He lifted his hand and deliberately gathered up his loose hair, scooping it back to reveal the scarred face that decorated posters and paintings all over the Fire Nation. 

The chuckling stopped. 

“Fuck me,” the Earth King’s bear muttered as the captain of the ship fell to his knees. The rest of the crew quickly followed suit. 

“My Lord, my sincerest apologies for our disrespect. The ship is yours to do as you please,” the captain said into the wooden boards of the deck. 

“No apologies necessary,” Zuko said, immediately throwing up his hands to stop the inevitable wave of bowing. “I’m happy to see how fiercely you defend this ship.” The captain stayed down, making Zuko more uncomfortable by the second. “Captain, please. We’re in a hurry and we need your help.”

After an excruciating amount of time, the captain stood, his crew following suit. “My Lord, I’m deeply honored to be of your service. But we’re docked for the night. Readying the sails would take at least another hour…”

“That won’t be necessary,” Katara said, speaking for the first time since they’d boarded. 

Before anyone could react, she planted her feet and raised her arms, and the boat lurched forward, nearly knocking all of its occupants off their feet. She began making alternating, pushing motions with her hands, and the seawater around the ship began cresting in white waves, pushing them with unnatural speed away from the harbor. 

“Where to, Zuko?” she asked him

He thought about what Akio and Ren had told him earlier that night. “East,” he decided. “Toward the Gates of Azulon. That’s her only way out.”

The ship jolted slightly right and then pressed forward even faster. Finally, they were headed toward Azula.

Zuko was sure he had never traveled so quickly on a ship; the ocean wind whipped his hair and clothes around his body, threatening to topple him over at any moment as he flew headfirst into the icy air. He might have found the sting of it painful if his body wasn’t going hot all over again with bubbling anger. The quick, rhythmic pounding of the waves against the ship were matching his racing heartbeat. He was ready, so, _so_ ready, to make Azula pay. 

In the back of his mind, Zuko thought it must be tiring for Katara, folding the whole ocean around them to get them to sail east as quickly as possible. But she showed no signs of exhaustion, only pure determination. 

Unlike Zuko, however, the captain seemed transfixed by Katara. Careful not to be pushed over by the forceful wind, he stepped over to the edge of the ship and watched the water as it lapped the ship’s walls. “This is incredible,” he said loudly over the deafening crash of the waves, clearly awestruck. “I’ve heard of your kind, but I’ve never actually seen waterbending in action before. You would make an incredible sailor.”

The humility in his voice was endearing, but it didn’t break Katara’s concentration as she pushed them forward. Through gritted teeth, she responded, “You should visit the Southern Water Tribe someday. We’re all sailors.” 

“You know, I think I just might – ” 

“There!” Zuko called out, pointing to a ship on the far horizon. Even from far away, he could see it was one of the black, heavily armored military ships that the Fire Nation had deployed so frequently only a few years ago. With the war over, Zuko hadn’t had a reason to use the old military ships for their intended purpose for quite some time, so he knew with certainty that the ship wasn’t there under his own orders. Of course Azula couldn’t resist making her getaway in one of the relics of their father’s rule. 

Zuko felt his whole body tilt dangerously sideways as Katara steered the boat quickly to the side, maneuvering them into a crescent-shaped path that would ultimately land them directly in front of the slow-moving metal vessel. 

Katara’s bending intensified, and the waves pushing on either side of the ship grew more and more erratic, tossing Zuko and the rest of the crew from side to side with painful force. Zuko understood how she felt. As they grew closer to his sister, the memory of what she had done to Sokka was getting more and more vivid in his mind’s eye. Each time he remembered the crack of lightning against Sokka’s chest and the thud of his body falling to the floor, Zuko’s body was growing hotter with anger. There were thoughts swimming around in his mind that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with – he wanted to do more than just capture Azula, he wanted to _hurt_ her, to punish her, to make her feel every ounce of the pain she had caused him. 

He wanted to kill her.

Zuko immediately balked at the repulsive thought as it flashed across his mind. He was shocked at himself; that wasn’t like him, not at all. Never before had he wished something so vile. He didn’t really want to kill his own sister, did he? Did he? Was the pain of her attack on Sokka so strong that it could rewire Zuko’s core? Was Sokka’s hold on Zuko’s heart so strong it could compel him to kill?

Without realizing it, Zuko had produced a small flame in his own palm, one that was flickering larger the closer they got. With tremendous effort, he forced the flame away. 

As the ship turned back toward Azula’s vessel, Zuko could see a lone figure standing on the deck, wild black hair billowing in the ocean wind. The person faced them, standing perfectly still. 

Azula knew they were coming. 

Katara maneuvered the ship just in front of Azula’s massive metal boat and brought it to a jerking halt, letting salt water spray up over the sides onto the ship’s crew.

Their small boat rocked silently for a moment.

Azula’s face appeared suddenly above them, peering just over the edge of the ship. Zuko couldn’t quite read her expression, maybe because of the dark of the night or the obstruction of her jet-black hair, or maybe because she looked so conflicted that she couldn’t settle on just one. 

As quickly as she was there, she was gone. 

Katara was suddenly beside Zuko, grabbing his arm. “Let’s go.” 

Zuko looked at her. Her furrowed brow was stormy, but resolute, utterly ready to do what had to be done. She looked so incredibly like Sokka in that moment, with the exact expression he wore to face off with Zuko’s fiercest opponents in the boardroom or on the battlefield. Zuko could feel his own blood feeding off her churning energy, the fire in his veins ready to destroy the girl on the boat above. 

But…

Like almost every minute of his days, Zuko thought of Sokka. Really thought of him. But not angry Sokka, tensed and ready to attack like Katara was now. Instead, he remembered the Sokka he saw the rest of the time, who smiled and laughed and believed in Zuko with all of his heart. This was all for _him._ What would he want? Would he want Zuko to murder his own sister in cold blood? With aching introspection, Zuko discovered that the darkest parts of himself wanted so, so badly to end her life for what she had done. Maybe it was time for Zuko to give in to every horrible impulse that kept him up at night wondering if nature was insurmountably stronger than nurture. 

Katara was tugging him toward Azula. 

_You’re nothing like your father._

That’s what Sokka always said. Every time Zuko confided in him his fear that he was backsliding, Sokka told him the same thing, blue eyes unwavering and serious and sure. _You are **nothing** like your father. _

“Katara. Wait.”

Zuko stopped in his tracks, yanking her back with him. She turned indignantly back toward him. “Zuko – ”

“Just let me talk to her. Before you go up there, just let me try. Please,” he begged her. 

He hoped he wasn’t making a horrible mistake. 

Katara seemed to think he was. “Are you serious? You want to _talk_ to her? Did you forget what she did to Sokka? She’ll do the same to you!”

“Katara! She’s my _sister._ ” 

Katara looked furious. Zuko stared at her pleadingly, praying she would understand why he had to do this. Even though Katara’s sibling was the best person Zuko had ever known and his was one of the worst, killing one in cold blood could never be the right thing to do, could it? With sudden certainty, Zuko knew: Sokka would never want Zuko to stoop that low. 

Zuko felt like he was burning under Katara’s piercing gaze, like an ant under a shard of glass. As she considered his words, Zuko began to worry that she was going to pin him down like she had earlier, or maybe just call up a wave and let the ocean swallow him whole. But after several excruciating moments, she released her painful grip on his arm and stepped aside. 

“Fine. But the second she tries to hurt you, I’m coming up there.”

“Okay.” Zuko was grateful to have Katara’s backup, but hoped he wouldn’t need it. 

It was time for him to face his sister. 

He squared his shoulders, leapt onto the railing at the edge of the ship, then knelt and jumped, just high enough to grab the railing of the taller boat and swing himself over to its deck. He landed with a huff, spinning around as he regained his footing. 

“So nice of you to finally join me, brother.”

She was standing on the other end of the deck, closer to the cabin than Zuko was. He couldn’t quite read the way her face was contorted, or tell whether her bared teeth were intended as a scowl or a smile. Azula didn’t seem to be able to stand still; she was pacing back and forth, fiddling with the edges of her clothes, looking at Zuko and at the metal beneath them and up toward the sky. 

Zuko was…scared. He wasn’t afraid of her, as he had been earlier that night. Instead, he was suddenly afraid of just how far gone she seemed. How had he not noticed before?

“Azula.” Zuko spoke with more calm than he felt, like a poacher would speak to a wild animal that might bolt at any moment. “I just want to talk. Let me – ”

“ _NO!_ ” 

Azula’s shrill scream shattered the salty air around them. 

“No. No, brother. Before you say anything to me, I have a question for you.” She took a shaky step toward him, looking down and then meeting his eye once more. “Did it work?”

“Did what – ”

“Did I kill him!? Did I kill your Water Tribe pet?” 

The anger in Zuko’s heart flared up again. He felt his own heat fly to his fingertips, raring to produce a flame. Drawing a deep breath, he forced his fingers to fold into a fist and extend again, hoping to quell the fire that was begging to be bent. He wasn’t going to hurt Azula. He was going to bring her home, whatever that took. 

At long last, Zuko looked down. “Yes,” he lied softly. 

“Good.” Azula swayed toward him, unsteady on her feet. “Good, good. Finally, you get to know how it feels to have no one on Earth left to love you.”

“Azula, please. You got what you wanted, now let me – ”

“Stop it. Stop talking to me,” she said sharply. “You’ve had six years to talk to me, to say anything in the world you wanted to say. I was wasting away while you were living it up in the palace, playing Fire Lord, trampling our father’s name with every step you took.”

She wasn’t wrong. Not about any of it. 

“All those years. You could have said anything to me, but you didn’t. Not one visit. So now you _have_ to listen to me. You have no choice.”

“Okay, Azula, okay.” Zuko put up his hands nonthreateningly. “I’m listening to you. You can say anything you want.”

Azula didn’t seem to hear his words. She just kept talking. 

“Do you want to know how I escaped? I bet all of your generals are going mad trying to figure it out. How did _crazy_ Azula sneak her way out of this one?” She clenched her fists. “Guess what, brother? There was no sneaking involved. I just talked. All I had to do was talk, and they listened. And I had a lot to say. Not that _you_ would know.”

She took another shaky step forward, and Zuko took one back, hoping more than anything to avoid a physical confrontation. 

“I didn’t lie to them, either. I just told them the truth. About you, and father, and the incredible Fire Nation I knew growing up, and how strong we _could_ be again with the right person on the throne.” Her voice was getting harsher, more frustrated. “I talked, and they listened, and after all those years they finally realized how _right_ I was.” 

Azula drew a shuttering breath, as if to compose herself. Her next words were more teasing, almost like the Azula that Zuko had grown up with. “I hope you didn’t punish them too harshly, _Fire Lord_ Zuko. Those men are patriots. They just want what’s best for our country.”

Zuko tried again. “That’s what I want too, Azula. Just come with me – ”

“SHUT. UP.” Her scream was piercing. “I already told you. Don’t _talk_ to me! I don’t care about anything you have to say!”

For the first time, Zuko saw tiny sparks of lightning bouncing off of Azula’s fingertips. She seemed to notice too, holding her hands to her face and shaking them to rid them of the sparks. With a groan, she buried her face in her hands, then ran them up through her untamed hair, as if to bring back some semblance of royalty to her appearance. 

“Listen to me,” she said, as if Zuko wasn’t already listening for dear life. “You know, locked up in my tiny cell, I had a lot of time to think. And you know what I thought about? Every single night as I lay awake?” She didn’t wait for the answer to the question. “I did everything right. _Everything._ All my life. I was the perfect princess. I excelled in school, I mastered firebending, I honored our country, and I obeyed our father. I did _everything_ right.”

She was pacing around again, looking wildly about, like she wasn’t really speaking to Zuko at all. “And you? You did everything _wrong._ You disrespected father. You were banished. And when it came down to it, you betrayed the Fire Nation.”

Azula laughed, an eerie sound without a hint of humor.

“The ending should be obvious, shouldn’t it? And yet, despite doing everything wrong, you win. The crown. The love of our mother. The stupid Water Tribe plaything.” Zuko’s breath hitched in his throat as she mentioned Sokka again. Azula, who even now could push Zuko’s buttons like no one else on earth, chuckled darkly. “Well, I suppose you don’t have that last one anymore.”

Zuko felt heat flowing through his veins once more. 

“So, brother, as usual, it’s my job to clean up the mess you’ve made. Since everyone seems to be going along with your shameful charade, it’s up to me to set things right for the Fire Nation.” Her words were bitter, choked. 

“You’re right,” Zuko said, taking one step toward Azula. “I should have been listening to you all this time. I’m sorry.” 

His heart felt like it was being pulled apart in all different directions. He felt terrified of what Azula might unleash on him in her unhinged state, and furious at her for the way she talked about their mother and about Sokka. But on top of it all he felt overwhelmingly, deeply sad at the amount of pain Azula was exuding. How difficult would it have been for him to go visit her? It would have meant nothing to him, and yet clearly it would have meant everything to her. Zuko struggled, trying to find the words to cure some of the extreme hurt he had caused. 

“Come back to the palace with me,” he finally said earnestly. “Let’s make this right together.”

Azula’s face clouded with conflict. She hadn’t expected that. She looked across the deck at Zuko, shivering, weighing his words. Then, just when Zuko expected her to shoot back with another angry declaration or blast of flame, she began to cry. 

“Azula,” Zuko murmured as he watched her bury her face in her hands. She looked so incredibly small, nothing like the terrifying presence Zuko had been raised with. There was no fire in the girl in front him. Now, she was so fragile she seemed as though she might shatter at the smallest gust of wind.

Zuko rushed toward his crying sister instinctively.

“STOP,” she cried brokenly, with one hand still clutching her wet face. “You can’t fix this now. You’re too late. You left me with no choice.”

She sniffled, and then shook herself, black hair swirling around her petite body in the ocean wind. “You left me with no choice,” she repeated, almost to herself. She straightened and planted one leg back, assuming the position that years of training had ingrained in her muscle memory. “I had to kill him. Now I have to kill you. This is the only way.”

“Azula, wait – ”

“I’M DONE WAITING.” Electricity was bouncing off of Azula’s hands again. “I waited for you long enough. I’m done!”

She raised her arms, two fingers pointed directly toward Zuko. The air crackled. Zuko struggled to keep his hands from alighting with fire, hoping against all the evidence that there was still some way to de-escalate the situation. 

“Azula – ”

“Maybe,” Azula panted harshly, the bolt of lightning charging menacingly around her fingers, “maybe killing you will finally be enough to – ” 

She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. 

A shadow flew suddenly over the deck of the ship. With a painful _thunk_ , Azula fell to the ground. Zuko realized she’d just been hit over the head with a massive, flying chunk of ice the size of a barrel. 

“ _Zuko!_ ” 

Katara was climbing onto the deck of the taller ship, their crew following along behind her. She ran up to Zuko, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders. “Thank god you’re okay.”

“Katara!” Zuko said, recovering from his shock and discovering a layer of anger beneath it. “You shouldn’t have done that – it was working! I was so close, I could have – ”

“No, Zuko!” Katara said, looking up at him desperately. “You couldn’t have. You’re lucky you’re still alive.”

“But – ” 

“She’s too far gone. She was going to kill you, Zuko. I had to stop her. I’m so sorry.”

Zuko looked from Katara to his own sister, whose tiny body was crumpled limply on the ground. 

For the millionth time that day, he had failed. 

“Hey.” Katara put a hand on his cheek, tugging his face back over to look at her. “You did your best. I know how hard that was for you. I think…” She looked down. “I think Sokka would be proud.”

Zuko hoped so. 

He put a hand on Katara’s shoulder and then pushed her gently aside, approaching his little sister’s body. She was still alive, he realized as he knelt beside her and felt her pulse. Gratitude welled within his chest. He was glad, he noticed with surprise. Glad his sister was alive.

That dark corner of his heart couldn’t believe what he was feeling. Azula had tried to kill Zuko, tried to kill _Sokka_ , and yet Zuko was still holding on to some notion that the fact that she was family _mattered_. That she deserved to live.

_You are **nothing** like your father._

It was all for Sokka, wasn’t it? Everything Zuko did. Every little thing. 

The thought shook Zuko. He knew, of course, but he’d never truly reflected on how deep that loyalty went. What insane things was he willing to do on Sokka’s behalf? Deceive his staff. Negotiate with a terrorist. Put his own life in danger, more than once in one night. Zuko would do it all. 

_And more_ , he realized darkly. The outer limits of that devotion had certainly not been tested here, tonight. 

“Will you help me?” he asked Katara, shelving that train of thought for another time. She knelt down with him and bent some water up from the ocean beneath them, forming icy cuffs around Azula’s hands and feet. 

“Zuko, look,” Katara said, pointing to the deck just beside Azula’s fallen body. There, glinting in the moonlight, was the whalebone engagement necklace that Azula had stolen from Sokka. It must have fallen from her clothes as she lost consciousness. “Do you think she got engaged to someone from the Water Tribe when none of us were looking?” Katara joked. 

Zuko snatched it up, clinging to the necklace like he would never let it go again. He silently thanked the spirits – this one thing, at least, he could bring to Sokka to make some part of this night okay. 

Then the moon disappeared. 

The ship around them went dark and Zuko and Katara found themselves shrouded in shadow. Looking up, Zuko saw a massive object filling the sky, flying closer and closer and threatening to crush them all. 

Zuko suddenly recognized that grey stomach descending upon them. “Appa?!”

The sky bison lowered itself into the choppy sea just beside the two ships. On Appa’s back, sitting cross-legged in his saddle, was a very, very, very angry Aang. 

“What on _earth_ do you two think you’re doing?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope this chapter was worth the wait!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko learns something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Brief mention of suicidal thoughts

“A-Aang!” Katara stuttered, standing abruptly. “How did you – ”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Aang said hotly. “I guess I figured it out when I climbed into our bed and you _weren’t there?_ ” 

Katara bit her lip and looked nervously between Aang and Zuko, who was suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable. “Can we talk about this later? We have to – ”

“Oh, we are definitely going to be talking about this later.” Aang stood up in Appa’s saddle, crossing his arms and staring angrily up at Katara and Zuko. “How could you possibly think this was a good idea? Sneaking out in the middle of the night? Picking a fight with Azula? Lying to me? Do you realize how stupid that was?”

“Aang.” Katara’s surprise was quickly melting into indignant anger. “We’re fine. We had to do this for Sokka – ”

“No. You didn’t. You realize that Zuko is the freaking Fire Lord now, right? You know he literally has entire armies whose only job is to do what he says? We’re not teenagers anymore!” Aang looked to Katara with exasperation. “You can’t do stuff like this. You’re my _wife._ ”

“Oh, so now that I’m your little _wife_ , I’m not allowed to go out at night? I’m just supposed to stay at home and wait for your permission?”

“You know that’s not what I – ”

“ _Guys!_ ” 

Katara and Aang both whipped their heads around to glare at Zuko.

“Sorry,” Zuko said. He felt painfully awkward under their burning gazes. “It’s just…we need to get Azula back. These won’t last long if she wakes up.” He gestured to the frosty handcuffs Katara had bent around his sister’s hands. 

“Fine,” Katara snapped. “I’ll just take the ship back to the harbor.”

“Why don’t you ride back on Appa with me.” Aang’s voice was cold. He wasn’t asking. 

Katara looked like she was about to push back, but after a few moments she exhaled. “…fine,” she said, her tone just as icy. Without looking at Aang or Zuko, she walked toward the railing of Azula’s ship above the floating bison. 

The captain of the ship rushed toward her, putting a hand on her lower back. “Here, miss, let me help you – ”

“Back off.” Suddenly Aang was there, on the deck of the ship, standing between Katara and the now-terrified captain. It took Zuko’s brain a moment to comprehend the fact that Aang had air-blasted himself off of Appa’s back so instantaneously that the man was only in contact with Katara for less than a second. “She doesn’t need your help.” 

The captain backed away, looking appropriately frightened as he retreated from the fuming Avatar. “O-of course. My apologies.”

Katara swung over the raining and onto Appa’s back without another word to Aang. Zuko turned to the captain. 

“I just wanted to tell you again how much I appreciated your help tonight. I’ll make sure you’re rewarded,” he said. 

“Oh, there’s no need for that,” said the captain, trying to compose himself again. “It is an honor simply to serve the Fire Lord.” He bowed deeply again. 

Zuko looked from the ship he was standing on to the other, smaller ship that he and Katara had hijacked earlier that evening. “Unfortunately, there’s one more thing I need to ask of you,” Zuko said to the captain and his tiny crew. “Do you think you guys can bring back both of these ships to the harbor?”

* * *

Appa ascended from the sea with the four of them on his back. Zuko held Azula’s body between his outstretched legs, her back pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around hers. If she were to suddenly awaken, at least maybe he could keep the death toll down to just himself. 

Katara sat beside him in the saddle, looking out broodingly over the ocean. Aang was a few feet away, steering from the white fur between Appa’s horns. 

Years as a refugee had permanently altered Zuko’s cognitive processes. Although his brain was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open, it was already instinctively planning his next steps. What now? What was the best way to keep Azula from hurting Sokka again? Clearly simply imprisoning her and hoping she would go away wasn’t enough. His every instinct told him to _punish._ She needed to be locked up longer, deeper, harder. She needed to hurt for what she had done. But…

He thought of Sokka again. 

_Maybe there’s another way?_

As Zuko contemplated what his fiancé would want him to do, Katara had silently risen from the saddle and climbed down to where Aang was sitting. She leaned up against him and he put his arm around her shoulder, as automatically as taking a breath. 

“You didn’t understand what I meant earlier.” Aang’s words drifted up to where Zuko was sitting, even though he was speaking softly. “I meant, you’re my _wife._ If I lost you, I – I don’t know what I would do. I’d lose myself too.”

“I know.” 

“You’re so strong, Katara. I know that. But you still have to be honest with me. You have to let me worry about you.” 

“I know. I’m so sorry, Aang. It won’t happen again.”

“Okay. You know I love you, right? So, so much.”

“I love you too.”

As he unintentionally eavesdropped on the couple, Zuko felt a sharp pang of loneliness in his stomach. The pain of how badly he missed Sokka hit him suddenly, so overwhelming Zuko felt his eyes well up a bit at the thought of him. Zuko needed to get to him as quickly as possible, to hold him tight and make sure Sokka was still alive and real and _his._ And once they were together, he wouldn’t let them be apart for a long, long time.

* * *

Appa touched down at the doors of the palace, lowing gently. This time, Zuko’s Chief of Police and a number of his guards were there waiting for him. They didn’t look happy. 

Zuko slid carefully off of the bison’s back, still holding Azula’s limp body in his arms. 

“My Lord…” the chief began testily.

“My sincerest apologies.” Zuko cut him off. “I know I put you through quite a scare tonight. But this was a family matter. It won’t happen again,” Zuko told him, sincerely remorseful for the inevitable headaches he’d created in the hundreds of people whose sole job was protecting him from the types of danger he’d brought upon himself today. 

The chief looked ready to fight him, but instead he nodded curtly. 

“Now, as you can see, I have my sister here…”

“Of course. We will have her sent back to her cell immediately,” said the chief, gesturing for two of his men to come forward. 

“Actually…” Zuko hesitated. 

Was this really the right thing to do? Surely the chief would never agree to this…And yet, on the other hand, Zuko was the Fire Lord. For better or worse, his words had power. He just hoped he was using that power the right way. 

“Actually, I would prefer we don’t imprison her immediately. I’d like to arrange for a hospital room for her. She…hit her head, pretty badly.” He winced, glancing at Katara, who was carefully avoiding eye contact as she slid off of Appa. 

The chief sighed unhappily. “Surely you know, my lord, that keeping her anywhere besides the prison will make it much more difficult to keep her from escaping again…”

“I understand, but…I think this will make it easier, actually.”

The chief gave him a long look. “As you wish,” he said finally. He gestured again, and the two guards came forward and removed Azula from Zuko’s arms. He felt sad, seeing his little sister look so small in the hands of his bulky guards. Hopefully this could be the first step toward…something. Zuko didn’t fully know what to expect, but maybe he could begin to mend the rift between them. 

“My lord, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t tell you how ill-advised and dangerous your behavior has been today – ”

“I understand, and I agree,” Zuko said with a small smile. “I assure you, it won’t happen again.” He hoped he meant it, although he couldn’t guarantee that he would be able to keep himself in check if something were to happen to Sokka again. He would just have to prevent that possibility before it came to fruition. 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to be with my fiancé.” 

* * *

The hospital wing was much more crowded than Zuko had expected. 

About a dozen blue-clad healers were bustling around Sokka’s body, which had been moved from the tub to a nearby hospital bed. Zuko felt suddenly grateful he’d hired a team of excellent medical staff from the Northern Water Tribe once the war had ended to run the palace’s hospital wing. He watched them bathe Sokka, wash his hair, and treat the tiny injuries all over body that Katara hadn’t had time to heal earlier that night. Aang must have summoned them when he had left in search of Katara. When the women saw Zuko, they simultaneously stopped their work and dropped to their knees reverently. 

“Please,” Zuko said, and they rose, looking at him expectantly instead of resuming their work. 

Zuko tried to speak, but found that he couldn’t bring himself to say more. He swallowed. The question in his throat felt like a bear trap, certain to bite him the moment he touched it. 

“How…how is he?”

“He is strong, my Lord.” The oldest of the healers said immediately, approaching Zuko with a small smile. “Stronger than most we see here.”

“I know,” Zuko said automatically. Spirits, he knew. No one was stronger than Sokka. 

“He is doing well. Mostly thanks to the excellent work of his sister.” The woman’s eyes twinkled. Zuko made a mental note to make sure Katara left the Fire Nation with her weight in gold, or the key to her own country, whatever else on earth she wanted. It was only fair. The old healer went on. “We expect him to make a full recovery.”

A weight he hadn’t even known was there suddenly left Zuko’s shoulders. He breathed in, properly filling his lungs with air for the first time since Sokka had been snatched away from him. “Has he…?”

“He hasn’t awakened yet, no. That’s not unusual, though. It may be a few days. Give it time.” The woman looked so reassuring it was impossible for Zuko not to catch some of her positivity. He looked away from her to the bed, where his fiancé was mostly blocked from view by the many healers working on his body. 

“May I?”

“I don’t think I could stop you even if I wanted to.” The old woman flashed him a playful smile and turned to the other healers. “Ladies. Let’s give him a little privacy, shall we?”

The healers scattered. 

Zuko approached the bed where Sokka lay, heart thumping hard in his chest. But thankfully, the sight was much less painful than he expected. Most of the color had returned to Sokka’s lips, and his hair and skin were scrubbed so clean Zuko never could have guessed the man had been drugged and kidnapped earlier that same day. Someone had stitched up the tiny cut on his cheek and replaced the bandages on his chest with clean ones. The healer had been right. Sokka looked _strong._

Zuko hoped Sokka would be proud of him for what he’d done tonight. 

Gingerly, still slightly afraid that this could somehow all be ripped away from him, Zuko took Sokka’s hand in his own. He ran a thumb over Sokka’s knuckles. They were soft, as if they’d been moisturized as he slept. The healers had really taken care of everything. 

“Sokka?” he tried. 

There was no response except for the sound of Sokka breathing in and out. He seemed…peaceful. 

No matter. Zuko would just stay until he woke up. He left Sokka’s side for only a moment, to pull up a chair, and then he took Sokka’s hand back into both of his. 

He wondered if Sokka could hear him, even in his sleep. “I’m here,” he promised out loud. And he always would be. 

* * *

Exhausted as he was, sleep took Zuko easily. 

That wasn’t necessarily a good thing. When Zuko slept, he dreamed. 

Tonight, the dreams were all about the same. He saw his sister, or his father, or even his grandfather filling his vision with flames. He saw himself failing. He saw Sokka dying. Each ended with the same wall of fire Zuko had lit in the Agni Kai arena, and unstoppable rage swallowing his body whole. 

Zuko was grateful when someone shook him awake.

“Hey, are you okay?” Zuko heard Aang’s voice saying. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw the Avatar had one hand on Zuko’s shoulder while the other held a tray of food. “You were talking in your sleep,” Aang explained, stepping back. 

Light was streaming into the giant room. Instead of attempting to respond to a question he didn’t know the answer to, Zuko asked, “What time is it?” 

“Just past two,” Aang said, setting the tray down on a counter nearby and leaning on it with one elbow. 

“Spirits, really?” Zuko groaned, rubbing his eyes. If he’d really been unconscious well into the afternoon, why did it still feel like he could sleep for another week? 

“Hungry?” Aang asked, picking up a bun from the tray and holding it out to him. Zuko shook his head. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten, and yet the thought of food made him feel a little sick. 

Aang put the bun back down, grabbing a steaming mug from the tray instead. “Here. Drink this, at least.” 

Zuko took the cup from his wordlessly and sniffed. Jasmine tea. His favorite. 

“Thanks,” he said hoarsely, taking a small sip of the hot liquid. “Is Katara…?”

Aang smiled. “She’s fine. She slept almost as long as you did, but she’s okay.”

“Aang, I’m so sorry – ”

“It’s okay,” Aang said, cutting him off and putting his hand up. “You did what you had to do. I don’t approve, but…I understand.” 

Zuko chewed on his lip, letting Aang’s words hang in the air for a few moments before asking his next question. “And…my sister?”

“She’s okay,” Aang said more softly. “She’s upstairs, actually. Private hospital room. But she’s alive and healthy, according to the healers. Well, physically.” 

Zuko nodded, more to himself than Aang. Somehow, this was actually all working out. He’d managed to wrangle Azula back in without hurting her. He still wondered whether he would regret it, but strangely it felt like he’d done the right thing, for once. 

He looked down at Sokka, whose lips were still parted in the haze of his deep sleep. Even now, Zuko felt a prick of anger as his eyes scanned Sokka’s bandaged chest, his bare neck, and his cropped hair. Even if he had done the right thing, there was still some sensation deep within Zuko telling him the opposite. Some primitive, instinctual urge that was activated at the sight of Sokka’s injury. Something that made him feel…violent. 

Aang must have seen the tortured expression on his face. “Seriously, Zuko. Are you doing okay?”

Zuko nodded again. He was okay, but there was still a nagging fear in the back of his mind, one that had been eating away at him since the night before. 

“It’s just…” He wanted to be honest with Aang, but he didn’t quite know how to describe how he was feeling. He sat silently, probing the emotions that were around in his head before finally settling on a name that seemed to fit them.

“I’m…scared.”

“Oh,” Aang said, lifting an eyebrow. “Well, you don’t have to be. Azula’s being guarded 24/7, and your Chief of Police is already going through all of your staff and trying to figure out who else she converted – ”

“No,” Zuko interrupted him. “It’s not – I’m not scared of that. It’s…” 

He looked down at Sokka, feeling the wave of emotions that brought. The tenderness, but also the perpetual undercurrent of raw anger. 

“I’m _scared,_ ” he repeated, his voice quavering slightly. “I’m scared of…of what I would do. For him.” 

He looked brokenly at Aang. “Last night, I lost control. I almost killed my sister. I almost killed _myself._ I _wanted_ to. Because she hurt Sokka.” He looked down. “I would have done it, too. In a second. The only reason I didn’t is because I…I knew that’s not what _he_ would have wanted.” 

Spirits, he felt so tired. 

“Aang, I’m scared of becoming my father,” Zuko said, eyes trained on the floor as he tried not to let himself begin to tear up. “I’m scared that’s what Sokka does to me. And I’m scared because I’m…kind of okay with it.”

He closed his eyes, waiting for Aang’s judgment, or disgust, or pity. 

“Hm. No, I don’t think so,” Aang said casually.

Zuko’s head snapped up. “What?”

“You’re definitely wrong.” 

Zuko looked at him skeptically. “How can I be wrong about how I feel?”

Aang’s lips formed a small, sympathetic smile. “Zuko, you were raised by Ozai. You knew him better than anyone. Do you really think he ever did _anything_ because of how much he loved someone?” 

Zuko looked at him for a moment and shook his head. No, of course not. Ozai hadn’t even been capable of love, not really. Every act of violence had been on behalf of one person: Ozai himself. 

“Exactly,” Aang went on. “And, by the way, you just told me that you _didn’t_ hurt Azula because of Sokka. So if anything, Sokka is making you less like your father.”

“Aang, you weren’t there last night. You didn’t see what I was like. It was…” _Terrifying._

“Zuko. Someone you love got hurt. You got angry.” His smile got a little bigger. “I guess no one has told you this before, so listen to me: That’s what happens when you love someone. It’s normal. It’s just another part of being in love.” 

Zuko didn’t respond. 

“Let me tell you a story. Way back in the day, years ago, when I was still training to be the Avatar, we had this crazy plan to try to trigger the Avatar state.” Aang looked past Zuko into the distance as he thought back, a small smile still ghosting his lips. “It wasn’t easy. I can only get that way when my emotions are…extreme. And they were trying everything, bending rocks at me, almost getting me killed. But nothing worked. Until one of them buried Katara alive.”

Aang looked back at Zuko, suddenly serious. “That did it. The fear and anger that hit me was so strong that I…lost myself.”

Zuko nodded silently. He felt he understood, in a way. If he had the ability to enter the Avatar state, it would no doubt have been triggered the moment Sokka’s body had hit the ground in the Agni Kai arena. 

“My love for Katara was – and still is – one of the only things on earth that can do that to me. And that’s dangerous. Every single time I’m in the Avatar state, I worry that I’m going to hurt someone. It’s scary that I love her that much. But…” His serious expression melted away to a smile once more. “She’s also the only person in the world who can reach me when I’m like that. You know?”

Zuko looked down at Sokka. Yes. He knew. 

“So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, when you’re in love with someone, it’s extreme. It’s dangerous. It’s powerful. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. It’s just another part of being in love.” 

Aang’s words echoed in Zuko’s mind. It was true. Tonight the thought of Sokka had made him extreme, dangerous, powerful. But…it had been a good thing in the end, hadn’t it? He’d saved his sister. He’d saved Sokka. Zuko still felt scared of himself as he thought back to the events of the night, but maybe he shouldn’t. 

“For what it’s worth, I think Sokka will be proud of you when he hears what you did for him,” Aang said, breaking the silence again. 

Zuko thought he was probably right. 

“Thanks, Aang,” he responded finally. He still wasn’t quite sure what to make of their conversation, but he guessed he would be thinking about it for a long time. 

Aang looked happy, then a little sheepish. “You know, Sokka isn’t up to remind you that humans require food to survive, so that’s kind of my job right now…”

Zuko laughed, a loud sound that surprised him even as it left his mouth. Spirits, when was the last time he had laughed? “Okay, okay,” he said, holding out his free hand for the rejected bun. “I’ll give it my best effort.”

“Do it for Sokka,” Aang reminded him teasingly, passing him instead a hot bowl of soup full of meat and chopped vegetables.

“For Sokka,” Zuko agreed softly as he took the soup from Aang, although he couldn’t imagine taking more than a few spoonfuls. 

They both looked down at the sleeping man between them. There was a heat in Zuko’s chest that was unrelated to the Jasmine tea he was drinking. When he looked at Sokka, remembering what Aang had told him, he was overwhelmed with pure, simple, love. What could be wrong with feeling this way about another person? 

_It’s just another part of being in love._

“I think I’ll leave you two alone,” Aang said, maybe noticing the way Zuko’s eyes were misting over as he gazed toward Sokka’s sleeping face. “But you have to promise me you’ll eat!”

“I will!” Zuko said, grinning, but unable to tear his eyes away from Sokka. If he had to have meals delivered to his bedside for as long as it took for Sokka to wake up, so be it. He didn’t mind the wait. 

“Okay. Come get me if you need anything,” Aang said, before disappearing from the hospital wing. 

Zuko intended to eat. He really, really did. For Sokka, right? But he had scarcely brought the spoon to his mouth before his eyes began to droop again with sleepiness. It wasn’t so much the painful exhaustion he had felt earlier, but instead a warm, gooey drowsiness emanating from the affectionate ball of heat that was burning in his chest. He put his bowl aside and settled back into the chair, taking Sokka’s hand in both of his so he would know the moment Sokka was awake. Then Zuko let his eyes slide shut, feeling oddly safe.

There were no nightmares this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be honest: this is probably my favorite chapter so far, and I had so much fun writing it. I hope you enjoyed reading! The next chapter will be up soon!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka gets back something he lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Brief mention of suicidal thoughts, brief discussion of suicidal feelings
> 
> Thanks for waiting! I hope you enjoy reading this one - I really enjoyed writing it!

The first light Sokka saw was Katara. 

He was shocked awake by a knife-like cold, as if he had fallen straight through the surface of a frozen lake. His body felt...heavy. Almost waterlogged. There was an unignorable, throbbing ache in his chest. Sokka felt like that ache should mean something to him, but the brain freeze seizing his nervous system had temporarily suspended his ability to think. 

He tried to force his eyes to focus on his sister. But she looked...off. She was far away, hazy, like Sokka was seeing her through the wrong end of a telescope. The expression on her face was one he couldn't read. She wasn't quite looking at Sokka, but she wasn't quite looking away from him either. The light haloing her brown hair was almost too bright for Sokka's eyes, and he let them fall shut again. 

There. Darkness. That was much better. 

But what was Katara doing here, anyway? She needed to leave before Azula spotted her. Alarm flooded Sokka's brain. He had to get Katara out of here immediately. 

Sokka shook off the grasp of sleep and forced his eyes open again. He had to warn her.

But his words didn't want to come. 

"...Katara...?" he managed, at long last. 

For the first time, Katara looked him straight in the eye. 

She looked even further away now, if that could even be possible. She moved toward him, and said something – he knew she did, because he could just barely hear echoes with her voice reverberating around in his skull. But they were so distorted that to Sokka, they were incomprehensible. Katara clearly wasn't understanding what he was trying to tell her, because she wasn't running or hiding or keeping herself safe like she was supposed to. 

_RUN!_ he tried to say, but his tongue wouldn't cooperate. Words were beyond him. 

"Sokka?"

 _Zuko._

The voice cut through the echoes, clear as crystal. And then the man himself came into view. Zuko's beautiful face was looking down at Sokka, but as it unblurred, Sokka realized Zuko's expression was contorted with anxiety. The moment of happiness that came from seeing Zuko quickly dissipated into fear. Why hadn't Zuko run when Sokka had given him the chance? Sokka tried to inspect Zuko, to see if he was okay, but Zuko's pale skin felt blinding. Sokka's eyes kept closing to block out the light. His body wanted so badly to give in to unconsciousness, but he fought to stay awake. He had to keep them _safe._ Only then could he allow himself to rest. 

Sokka's body was getting heavier and heavier. The pain in his chest was becoming more noticeable. Katara was saying something that was far beyond Sokka's ability to decode. 

"Sokka...baby..." 

Those words, Sokka could pick out from the garbled mess of sounds passing through his ears. He craned his neck in search of it and found Zuko. The lights and the colors around Zuko's face were twisting and bending like the work of a sick kaleidoscope. And why was he so far away? And - 

“ _ **AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_ ”

The worst pain Sokka had ever felt, times a million, lit his chest on fire and sent his body flying back into the dark abyss. 

Was this more of Azula's torture? 

He heard Zuko's voice again, his low murmur fading in and out between the sound of Sokka's own screams. The pain was absolutely unbearable. Sokka was going to die, he knew it. 

Then, just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Zuko and Katara's voices mingled again, too distant for Sokka to discern. Sokka breathed laboriously. At least that was over, Sokka thought. Now he could focus on staying awake. 

He was wrong. It wasn’t over. 

Sokka couldn't stop himself from wailing out as he began to burn alive once more. This time it went on forever, and it got hotter and hotter as Sokka tried to keep some hold on his senses. Zuko was there, staring down at him, but Sokka was almost incapable of seeing him. He didn't just know he was dying; he was hoping for it. 

_Stop that,_ he told himself, desperately trying to contain his screams as the pain grew worse. _No giving up until they're safe._

"...you're so strong..."

The sound was one shard out of the pile of broken glass passing itself off as sounds in Sokka's eardrums. Sokka wanted to believe Zuko, but his nerves were getting pushed beyond the level of torment that he was capable of withstanding. He was dying. This was death. 

_You're wrong,_ he thought sadly, wishing Zuko could hear him. _I'm so sorry._

And he let the darkness take him once more.

* * *

The next time he woke up, Sokka was warm. 

He came to slowly with his eyes closed, like he was drifting out of a dream. This time, sleep wasn’t drowning him; instead, it was letting him bubble up gently to the surface of his own awareness. He was laying comfortably in a bed, he realized. 

He definitely _felt_ like he was alive – or if he wasn’t, death was much nicer than he’d expected. 

Curious, Sokka parted his eyelids ever so slightly. The bed beneath him wasn’t _his_ bed; it was narrow, and stiff, and dressed with cotton instead of silk. Golden sunlight was streaming in through the windows of a massive room he didn’t recognize. The light was wrapping a soft glow around the dark-haired man who was fast asleep while holding Sokka’s hand from a chair by his bedside. 

The results of the _is Sokka dead?_ experiment were frustratingly inconclusive. After all, if Sokka were pressed to describe his idea of an angel, it would probably look exactly like that man. 

As the vague memory of being burned alive flitted across Sokka’s mind, he took silent stock of his own body. There was a slight pain in his chest, but it was dulled now and scarcely noticeable. He wiggled his toes and his fingers experimentally. It seemed like all of his limbs were still intact. Then again, that could be an afterlife thing. Who knew, really? Sokka turned his head to face the angel at his bedside. 

This time he was met with honey-colored eyes, wide with questions.

“Sokka…” the angel breathed, his voice thick with emotion. 

Sokka wanted to respond, but he wasn’t sure he could. He opened his mouth and wet his lips. For once in his life, his vocal cords were at a loss as the gears in his brain turned to remind him how to make words. 

“Hey,” he said finally. His voice sounded small, not like himself at all. 

“Do you know who I am?”

So they were starting with softballs, then. Sokka couldn’t help but smile a bit as he looked over at the man who had clung so tightly to him even in his sleep. 

“ _Zuko,_ ” he answered, his tongue easily offering up the last word he could ever forget. 

Zuko’s face lit up. “That’s right, baby,” he praised him, bringing Sokka’s hand to his face and pressing a light kiss into his palm. 

More was coming back to Sokka now. From his last moments before tripping into that well of unbearable pain, he remembered a flash of light that had been aimed straight at Zuko and the way his own body had moved without a thought to shove him out of the way. 

Sokka squinted at Zuko, freshly concerned. He looked…okay. A little bedraggled, maybe, but not injured. More spirit world magic?

“Are you okay?” Sokka rasped. 

Zuko looked amused. “Yes, I’m fine. Thanks to you.” 

Sokka exhaled. “Oh, thank god. So we’re not dead?”

Zuko laughed. A deep, spontaneous laugh that made Sokka feel strangely emotional. “No, we’re not dead. At least, not that I know of.” For a second, his smile turned just so slightly sad. “You had me scared for a minute there, but you pulled through, thankfully.”

Sokka knew Zuko well enough to know that was probably a major understatement. 

“I’m sorry,” he told Zuko quietly. 

“It’s okay. I forgive you.” 

Sokka broke their eye contact for a moment to make a second attempt at recognizing his surroundings, but he had no luck. “If we’re not in the spirit world, then where are we?”

“Oh,” Zuko said, looking around the room himself. “This is the hospital wing of the palace. I guess you’ve never been here before. I guess we’re lucky, in that respect.” 

“It’s nice. Great ambience.”

Zuko laughed softly. “You might be right, but if it’s okay with you, I want to get you out of here and back into our bed as soon as I possibly can.”

Zuko? Admitting he was right? _And_ inviting him to bed? “Please,” Sokka said, accepting the offer before it was off the table. “Please do that.” 

“I will,” Zuko promised. “At least, as soon as Katara will let me.”

“Katara?” Sokka asked. He felt his brow furrow in confusion as he tried to remember where his sister fit into all this. “Zuko, what exactly happened while I was out?”

Zuko’s smile fell. He looked suddenly closed off, thinking a bit too hard about the answer to what should probably be an easy question. Sokka knew the face well. It was the one Zuko wore when he was stepping back from a conversation to weigh all the rejection and condemnation he’d experienced in his life against the steady stream of affirmation that Sokka and others had provided him with over the past few years. Sokka wasn’t scared of the face anymore, because he knew which side of the scale always won out in the end. 

“Hmm?” Sokka prompted, taking advantage of the hand Zuko still held to his face by running his thumb against Zuko’s bottom lip. 

“Well…how much do you remember from yesterday?”

Deflection. Sokka was familiar with that move too. 

“Well, it all started when those guards you picked out kidnapped me. Akio and Ren. I’m guessing by now they’ve been put to death or sentenced to be whipped forty times naked in the town square or something. Am I close?”

Zuko winced. “Prison,” he admitted. 

“That sounds about right. After that, I woke up, chained down in another giant building I didn’t recognize.” Sokka thought back to the marble columns and the eerily vacant bleachers that had framed the fight. “What was that place, by the way? Azula said something about…Fire Nation culture?”

Zuko looked down. He fiddled nervously with Sokka’s fingers. 

Sokka waited. 

“That’s the old Agni Kai arena,” Zuko said finally. “It’s permanently closed now. _I_ permanently closed it. But when I was younger, that’s where the most important people would settle their disputes.” Zuko smiled grimly. “It’s where my father did this to me.” He brought Sokka’s hand to the scarred cheekbone just beneath his right eye. 

“Oh, Zuko,” Sokka said, sadness washing over him as he imagined thirteen-year-old Zuko begging for his life in an arena meant for adults. And what sick monsters had filled the bleachers to watch such a horrible thing? Sokka tried to push himself up on his elbows to get closer to Zuko, but the movement sent a sharp pain back to his chest.

“Argh,” he groaned as he flopped back onto his pillow. 

“It’s okay, lay down,” Zuko said, instantly at his feet. “You shouldn’t push yourself. Does it still hurt?”

“No, no, I’m fine. Sit. Please,” Sokka insisted. 

Zuko looked conflicted, but he sat. He looked down again and reached out his hand to stroke the lines of the tattoo on Sokka’s forearm. Sokka let him sit in silence for a bit. Zuko would say what he wanted to say when he was ready. 

“I never wanted you to see that place,” Zuko muttered. He didn’t look up at Sokka. “It’s just…a part of my life that’s closed off now. I’m not that person anymore.” 

Finally, he met Sokka’s eyes. “I know what you must be thinking. Shouldn’t I be falling apart? After being back at the site of my greatest failure for the first time? I thought I was going to be a mess too.” Zuko’s expression turned thoughtful. “But I’m…not. I’m actually okay.” 

_Don’t cry,_ Sokka told himself, even though his heart was being squeezed like a wet rag. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that, Zuko,” he said through a quivering smile. 

Zuko saw something in Sokka’s face that made him smile back. “Me too.”

They smiled dopily at each other for a few quiet moments. 

“Okay, what’s the next thing you remember?”

“Well, Azula was there, obviously. God, she was creepy. Even more than I remember, you know? No offense,” he said quickly. 

“No, none taken. She was definitely creepier than normal.” 

“You guys were fighting. Which, side note, was really hot by the way,” Sokka informed Zuko. 

Zuko smiled, this one with a bit more suggestion. _Hngh,_ Sokka thought, remembering the way Zuko’s muscles flexed as he was sending fire blasts at his sister. It had been inappropriate how attractive he’d found Zuko in that moment. 

“Go on.”

“Okay, then you tried to melt off my chains, but you got distracted.” Sokka closed his eyes. It had all happened so fast that he could barely separate one event from another. “You were looking at me. I saw Azula behind you. I saw her get ready to shoot some lightning at you. And then…”

Sokka smiled guiltily. “Then I saved your life? And you were eternally grateful and not mad at me at all for almost dying? That’s how I remember it anyway.”

“Hmm, not quite,” Zuko said, leaning over to place a featherlight kiss on Sokka’s wrist. His tone was joking, but when he looked up his eyes were sad. “I mean, I meant what I said when I told you I’m okay right now. But that moment? I wasn’t. Not at all.”

Zuko breathed in, steadying himself before he went on. “It just felt so fucked. You know? That someone like _you_ should have to die to save someone like _me._ What a cosmic joke.” 

Sokka went instantly indignant at the ridiculous sentiment. “Zuko – ”

“No, no,” Zuko stopped him, placing the thumb of his free hand against Sokka’s lips. “I already know what you’re going to say. I shouldn’t think that way. My life has value. And I’ve been trying really, really hard to believe that. I mean, I _do_ believe it. I’m just telling you this because in that moment I really, really didn’t.” Sokka felt the intensity of Zuko’s conflicted gaze as he rambled on. “When I saw you go down, for a second I just wanted to end it all. I really wanted to. But there was something in me – _you,_ ” he interrupted himself, “you were in me, your voice was in my head, and I guess that was…that was stronger.” 

Sokka hesitated, then nodded under Zuko’s thumb. “You were stronger, you mean,” he corrected Zuko gently, his voice muffled slightly by the skin against his lips. 

Zuko’s eyes burned. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I was.”

Sokka found that Zuko’s words made him feel a little…pride? After all, it was easy to throw a blanket of affirmation over Zuko and endlessly admonish him when he was feeling insecure. It was much, much harder to stand back and let Zuko do the work for himself. Sokka wondered if, in some crazy, twisted way, being knocked out for most of the last twenty-four hours had been a blessing. 

“You’re amazing,” Sokka told him honestly. 

Zuko laughed and looked down, pulling his hand away from Sokka’s face. “Okay.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know you are,” Zuko said, meeting his eye again. “You’re amazing too. Thanks for not dying.”

“Anytime,” Sokka said with a grin. Spirits, he hoped he could keep that promise. Not being a teenager anymore had definitely diminished his taste for action and adventure. Probably for the first time in his life, Sokka felt a little grateful he had a desk job now. 

Zuko had that look in his eye again, the one that meant he was vigorously fighting against himself to decide what to say. Sokka thought it might be time to broach the subject that he knew without asking was the source behind Zuko’s internal struggle. 

“So. What happened with Azula?”

Zuko froze. 

“Right,” he said. He was silent for a few more moments. “I…did something. I still don’t really know how to feel about it. But I think I’m glad I did it. I think, at least”

“Okay…” Sokka said, unsure where Zuko was headed. 

“Well. I know she tried to kill you. And me. And she did all that other horrible stuff. And she’s probably the worst person I ever met. But…she’s my sister.” Zuko looked for some understanding in Sokka’s eyes, and Sokka hoped he found it. “If you asked me yesterday what I would have done if someone almost killed you, I would have said I’d kill that person. No questions asked. And believe me, I got close. But…” Zuko looked away again. “When it came down to it, I couldn’t. No, I could have – but I didn’t. It just felt wrong.” 

Zuko paused. Sokka let the quiet stand. 

“So, instead, I…brought her back. I didn’t kill her. I didn’t even throw her in prison. She’s in this hospital. She’s getting help.” He laughed, a little manically. “After all of that, I’m still giving her a second chance.”

Sokka said nothing as Zuko stared at him, his expression becoming increasingly desperate. 

“Sokka. Am I weak? Am I an idiot? What was I thinking? Please tell me. I know she should be punished. But I just couldn’t do it. She’s not okay, Sokka,” he added. “Mentally. She doesn’t need to be tortured. She needs to be treated.” 

As Sokka continued to let him speak, Zuko finally threw his hands in the air. “Say something. Please.” 

A smile curled at Sokka’s lips. “Come here.”

“What?”

“Come. Here. I can’t get up to kiss you, so you’re going to have to come to me.” 

Zuko looked bewildered. He leaned in toward Sokka, but instead of giving him a kiss, he let his forehead fall to Sokka’s shoulder. “What are you saying?”

“Weak, definitely not. Idiotic, sometimes. But not in this instance.” Zuko exhaled exasperatedly against Sokka’s collarbone. “I’m saying…” Sokka tried to go on, but he found himself surprisingly emotional. “I’m saying I think you did the right thing. Even though it was really, really hard for you to do. And I’m saying, I’m proud of you.”

Zuko was silent. Sokka couldn’t look him in the eye, so he turned his head so he could press his cheek against Zuko’s soft hair. “I think the Fire Nation has seen enough killing. And enough family hurting family. _You did the right thing._ ” 

Sokka swung his arm up to rest on Zuko’s back, even though it hurt him a little bit to do it. “They’re lucky to have someone like you as their Fire Lord.”

Zuko tilted his head up just enough to peer at Sokka. Sokka went a little cross-eyed trying to meet his gaze. 

“You make me a better Fire Lord,” Zuko blurted out, like he was embarrassed about it. “I didn’t realize it before. Or at least, I didn’t appreciate it. Now I do. It’s just – spirits, Sokka, I don’t know who I would be without you.”

“I do,” Sokka said. “You’d be just as perfect as you are now. You’d just have more free time.”

Zuko cracked a smile. Spirits, he was beautiful. “True.”

“More peace and quiet.”

“Also true.” 

“You’d probably be cranky all the time because you wouldn’t be getting any – ”

“Okay, okay,” Zuko interrupted him with a grin. He pulled away, sitting up straight so Sokka could fully appreciate the glow he was exuding. “Let’s stop thinking about that. A world where I don’t have you is one I don’t want to live in. Thankfully I don’t have to.”

The words were as heavy and warm as a weighted blanket. 

“There’s something I still don’t get,” Sokka said. “I mean, we both know Azula is insane. And insanely good at firebending. So how exactly did you get her back here?”

Zuko looked sheepish. “Uh. Well…”

“You’re awake!” 

Sokka whipped his head around in time to see Katara coming into the wing with a huge smile on her face. “Of course I am! I heard you guys were getting lonely without me, so I figured it was time to cut my nap short.” 

Katara rolled her eyes, but the smile didn’t leave her lips. Once she reached Sokka’s side, she reached a hand out to stroke his hair. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, considering I seem to have this weird recollection of you torturing me.” Sokka told her. “Care to explain?” 

“That was me _saving_ you, stupid,” Katara said. 

“Sure, sure, you say that now, when there’s no one who can you prove you wrong!” 

“Um,” Zuko butted in, looking bemusedly between them. 

“So, did Zuko tell you what we did last night?” 

Sokka’s eyebrows shot up at Katara’s phrasing. “Um, _we?_ What are you talking about?”

Katara and Zuko exchanged a look. A _look!_ The kind reserved for secrets and surreptitiousness and inside jokes. The kind that had rarely, if ever, passed between Sokka’s fiancé and his sister, who were necessarily friendly at their best but frighteningly contentious at their worst. 

“Oh my god,” Sokka said, realizing what was happening. “You guys – bonded! Oh my god! You bonded! Please tell me you bonded!”

There was that _look_ again! 

“Maybe a little,” Katara said with a mysterious smile. 

“ _Finally!_ Oh my god, you guys have no idea how long I’ve wanted this to happen,” Sokka said, his heart full at the thought of the two people he loved most in life maybe, finally, becoming the best friends he’d always hoped they would be. “I need to almost die more often!”

“NO!” was the hilarious, simultaneous response. Sokka nearly choked. Hearing one another, Sokka’s two companions made eye contact again across the table and burst out laughing. 

“This is amazing. You’re so in sync now!” Sokka gushed. 

“I’ll admit, it was pretty cool when we took down Azula together,” Katara said to Zuko. 

“ _WHAT!?_ ” Sokka shouted. 

“And when you waterbended us out into the middle of the ocean?” Zuko added. 

“What.” 

“And when you stole that boat?”

“Oh my god, please tell me you guys are being serious right now – ”

“Okay, technically it wasn’t stealing,” Zuko said, and they both laughed. 

Sokka couldn’t do anything but stare, so happy he felt like he might burst. 

“Okay, okay, but Sokka,” Katara said, looking at him. “The absolute best part was when Zuko road up to the palace, shirtless, with you in his arms like some sort of play. Or some sort of romance novel!”

“I’m sorry, but _WHAT?_ ” Sokka said, turning to his fiancé with a look of utmost betrayal. “And you let me be unconscious for that?”

“Okay, I wasn’t actually shirtless – ”

“The whole Fire Nation saw your bare chest – ”

“I needed the sash to keep Sokka on the – you know what, forget it.” 

“I’m gonna need a reenactment of that,” Sokka insisted. “I want to be wide awake the next time you flash your citizenry.” 

Zuko’s cheeks turned a rosy pink. “There will be no next time.”

“Zukooooooo…”

“Sokka,” Katara said, slightly more serious but still wearing a smile. “If it’s okay with you, I want to take another look at your chest to see how it’s coming along. It might be time for another healing session.”

“Sure,” Sokka nodded, pushing his blanket down. 

“Actually,” Zuko said hesitantly. “Um. If it’s okay, I want to talk to Sokka about something in private. Do you think it can wait a little bit?”

“Oh, okay, sure,” Katara said. “I talked to some of the healers outside and they said he’s in really good shape. Better safe than sorry, that’s all.” 

“I’ll let you get to him soon,” Zuko promised, giving Katara another smile. 

“It’s okay,” Katara said, walking around to the other side of Sokka’s hospital bed where Zuko was sitting. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll see you two later.”

“Oh. My. God.” Sokka said, praying his heart out that this could be the new normal. 

Katara winked at him and was gone. 

“Okay, I’m a little nervous,” Sokka said. “What’s this private discussion you want to have with me?”

Zuko looked at him with an expression Sokka couldn’t read. Finally, he said, “I know Azula took the necklace I made you.”

“Oh.” 

To be honest, up until this point Sokka hadn’t really been thinking about the necklace. The joy of being alive, and Zuko being alive, and Zuko’s newfound friendship with Katara had blocked out the memory. Suddenly, the nakedness of Sokka’s neck felt like it was suffocating him. “Yeah. She did. Zuko, I’m so, so, so sorry. I know you worked so hard on it, and it meant _so_ much to me. I’m so sorry I lost it.”

“It’s okay,” Zuko said evenly. “I can just make you a new one.”

“Noooo, no, you shouldn’t do that,” Sokka said quickly. “I know it took you like, months to make. You shouldn’t have to start over. It was my fault for losing it. I shouldn’t have let her take it.” 

“Hmm. I guess you’re right. This is all your fault.” 

Sokka turned to him indignantly – _hey, come on, you weren’t supposed to actually agree with me!_ – when he saw that Zuko was looking down, fiddling with something that he was holding in his lap. 

“Sokka,” Zuko began with sudden, ceremonious solemnity. 

What was he doing? 

“What are you – ”

Zuko paused at the interruption, and the corner of his mouth turned up mischievously. 

“Sokka – ” Zuko started again. 

“OH MY GOD.” 

Sokka actually shouted. Because there, laced between Zuko’s fingers, was _his fucking necklace._

“Okay, you are the worst!” Sokka probably would have reached out to smack him if it wouldn’t have brought him physical pain. “I was feeling so shitty for losing it, you asshole!”

Zuko’s smile was getting bigger. When Sokka stopped talking, he quirked up an eyebrow, as if to say, _are you done now?_

Sokka huffed. He was done. For now, at least.

Zuko seemed satisfied by the silence. “Sokka,” he said one last time.

“Jumping in front of that lightning bolt was the most reckless, irresponsible, and stupid thing anyone has ever done for me.” Sokka almost started to protest, but Zuko’s expression softened as he looked at Sokka. “And I want you to know that I would do something just as reckless, irresponsible, and stupid for you in a heartbeat.”

Zuko stared down reverently at the necklace in his hands, and suddenly Sokka put together what was happening. 

“Oh. Oh, Zuko…” he said softly. 

“Hang on, baby, let me say this,” Zuko said, looking back up at him. His eyes were burning with tenderness and conviction. “The first time I gave this to you, I was certain it was the right choice. I had never been more sure of anything in my life. I thought I would never be more sure of anything ever again.” He swallowed. “I was wrong. Because I have gotten more and more sure every day that I’ve watched you wear this necklace. And we just spent the last twenty-four hours saving each other’s lives and when I look at you now, I feel more certain than ever that I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you, and letting you take care of me. It doesn’t feel like I could be more sure about this thing between us. But I know I will be tomorrow. Because that’s what you do to me.”

One of Zuko’s hands let go of the necklace to reach up and stroke softly along Sokka’s jawline. Sokka instinctually leaned into the touch. Zuko went on, “You make me better. A better person, a better leader, a better lover. So maybe it’s a little selfish, but I know I would be an idiot to ever let you go.” The featherlight touch of his fingers on Sokka’s face were sending butterflies flying to every corner of Sokka’s body. “I promise to love you and to protect you until the day I die. So, will you please,” Zuko cleared his throat, voice suddenly thick with emotion, “will you please wear my necklace again?”

A tear Sokka hadn’t even known was sitting the corner of his eye slid down his cheek. “God, _yes,_ Zuko, please, I want to wear it forever. I love you so much.”

Now there were tears sliding down Zuko’s face too. “I love you too,” he said, sounding a little relieved, as if he hadn’t known that Sokka would gladly say _yes_ to everything Zuko asked of him for as long as they both lived. Zuko’s hands trembled slightly as he lifted the necklace back to Sokka’s neck. Sokka lifted his head off of his pillow a few inches, and Zuko reached around and fumbled to fasten the clasp. The tiny brushes of Zuko’s fingers against Sokka’s throat felt like tiny shocks of lightning – the good kind, though. The kind that covered Sokka’s skin in goosebumps and made him feel more than a little lightheaded. 

The necklace secured, Zuko sat back to take in the sight. “That’s better,” he said with quiet intensity. 

“I agree,” Sokka told him. 

Zuko smiled. His face shimmered with wetness.

“You’re too far away,” Sokka declared. Not touching Zuko was now physically unbearable. “Will you lay down with me?”

Zuko thought about that. “Your sister might kill me if I mess up your bandages…”

“It’s okay. I’m here to protect you, remember?” Sokka smiled. “Now come here.” 

Zuko contemplated it for a moment more before standing from his chair. He kicked off his boots and then climbed awkwardly onto the side of the narrow hospital bed. Sokka spread one of his arms welcomingly, and Zuko lowered himself slowly down onto it. He rested his head gingerly on Sokka’s bicep while carefully angling his body to avoid touching his bandaged chest. Once Zuko was comfortable, Sokka brought his arm around him and began to rub his back slowly. 

“That’s better,” Sokka sighed contentedly. 

“You’re better,” Zuko murmured meaninglessly. Sokka could hear the smile in his voice. 

They lay there in silence, Sokka brushing his fingers up and down Zuko’s spine as he listened to Zuko’s breathing become slow and even. The tickle of Zuko’s breath across Sokka’s collarbone inevitably brought on a new kind of warmth, one that pooled eagerly at the pit of Sokka’s stomach. 

“Hey, remember what we did the night we first got engaged?” Sokka said suggestively, stroking Zuko’s bare ankle with his foot. 

There was no answer. 

With some maneuvering, Sokka angled his head until he could just see Zuko’s closed eyes and slightly parted lips. Sokka realized that Zuko was fast asleep.

That was form of celebration Sokka could get behind. He shifted slightly, pulling the cotton hospital blanket over both of them to form a perfect little cocoon. Sokka inhaled the scent of Zuko’s hair as he let his eyes slip shut and followed Zuko to sleep. 

He felt utterly safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~I feel obligated to warn anyone reading this that THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST. Prepare yourself accordingly.~~
> 
> So that was a lie. What can I say? I'm long-winded and enjoying writing this too much. There are 2-3 chapters still to come after this one. 
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading and commenting. It means so much to me that people are enjoying this story as much as I am.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko takes Sokka's shirt off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I LIED and this is not the last chapter. I'm very long-winded and very attached to these boys, so unfortunately I couldn't fit it all into one chapter. If you've read this far, thank you so much and I hope you're enjoying it!

“Fuck.”

“Does that hurt?”

“A little, yeah, shit…”

“Okay, just breathe, I’m right here.”

“ _Fuck._ Fuck, that’s – ”

“It’s okay. It’s okay, just hold onto me, baby, I’ve got you.” 

Sweating and panting, with one arm thrown over Zuko’s shoulder like a crutch, Sokka finally made it to their bedroom door. 

“See? You did it! That wasn’t so bad,” Zuko said brightly, his own breathing a little labored from pretty much carrying Sokka through the second half of their journey from the hospital wing to their room. Sokka watched the conflict that passed over Zuko’s face as he tried to figure out a way to open the door without unwrapping one arm from around Sokka’s waist or untangling the other from Sokka’s fingers. Finally, he shrugged and kicked the door open with his foot. 

“I think it would be more accurate to say _you_ did it,” Sokka wheezed. “And I was just very, very lucky to be along for the ride.”

“Come on.”

Sokka didn’t think he would be able to bring himself to move beyond the doorframe. He had been feeling better today, he really had, but the physical movement of walking paired with his elevated heart rate had set his chest on fire all over again. Thankfully, Zuko had been there to practically drag him up the stairs as two of his guards trailed behind them, radiating anxiety. 

“Sokka,” Zuko tried again when Sokka didn’t budge. “Baby. Come inside, you’ll feel so much better. I’ve got you, don’t worry.” He nosed Sokka’s sweaty jaw for good measure. 

Even though it pained him, Sokka forced one leg to move in front of the other, cursing his stupid Fire Lord fiancé. _Why_ did they have to live in such a massive bedroom? What was so wrong with living in an igloo, where the bed was so close to the door you could trip on it? 

It took forever, but with Zuko’s help, Sokka finally made it to the bed. As soon as he hit the edge, gravity took over, and Sokka flopped bonelessly backwards onto the silk covers. 

As usual, Zuko was right. He felt _so_ much better. 

“ _Beeeeed,_ ” Sokka half sighed, half sang. “I should have appreciated you more when I had the chance. I’ll never sleep anywhere else again, I promise.”

Sokka heard a laugh, and then Zuko bounced back onto the mattress next to him. “Really? I don’t know, I thought the hospital bed was nice.”

“Are you kidding? That thing was scratchy and stiff and tiny. Our bed is soft and squishy and _big._ ” Sokka stretched his arms out as wide as they could go to prove his point. His fingers didn’t even get close to the edges. Point made. 

“Hm. I guess I wasn’t really sleeping on the _bed,_ I was just sleeping on _you,_ ” Zuko said, and Sokka could hear the smile in his voice despite the fact that his eyes were closed with intense contentment. 

“So it really was just business as usual for you, then.”

“Mm hmm.”

The bed was so colossal that despite sharing it, their bodies weren’t even touching. That was one downside of the massive thing, Sokka had to admit. 

“Hey,” he said, reaching his foot out to try to locate Zuko’s body while keeping his eyes closed. His heel came in contact with Zuko’s thigh about a meter away. Zuko let out a surprised grunt-yelp. “Just because you can spread out doesn’t mean you’re allowed to. Get over here.”

“Your charms are irresistible,” Zuko grumbled, but he still shifted over to press his shoulder against Sokka’s hip. 

“So you’ve said.” Sokka reached one arm down to move Zuko’s head into the softer curve of his waist. He stroked Zuko’s cheek with his thumb, and he felt Zuko’s fingers begin to brush over his knee and caress the rough skin there. “How else could I have convinced you to lug me up here?”

“Mmm,” Zuko said, clearly fully relaxed. “You’re right. You tricked me. I want my money back.”

“When did you get so strong, anyway? I’ve never seen that side of you when we spar.” 

“You haven’t heard? While you were asleep, I was benching Sokkas. I’m ripped now.”

“Ha ha.” Sokka grinned. Still, he knew the truth. Zuko wasn’t strong enough to lift him, not really. Sokka was a good deal heavier than Zuko, and that was mostly dense muscle mass. Whatever force had allowed Zuko to carry him back from the Agni Kai arena was something beyond physical strength. Sokka cracked his eyes open, staring at their high ceiling and cradling Zuko’s jaw gently with one hand against his side. 

“Thank you, by the way. For carrying me.” _Thank you_ felt less meaningful than what Sokka wanted to say, which was some sort of verbalization of the mix of awe, affection, and gratitude he felt tingling beneath the skin where Zuko touched him. Saying “thank you” made it sound like Zuko had done him some minor favor, as opposed to literally _saving Sokka’s life_ and fulfilling the far more important mutual duty they owed to each other, one that Sokka had only recently begun to comprehend himself. He didn’t really think thanks were appropriate, but he felt the need to give them all the same. “Just now, and…before.”

Zuko’s head shifted in his hand. Sokka looked down and saw that Zuko had tipped his head back into the mattress so he was looking up at Sokka upside down, chin tilted toward the ceiling. Liquid amber eyes bore into Sokka. 

“Sokka. Of course.” 

Zuko’s soft voice sounded slightly…surprised? It was weird, but Sokka understood, in a way. They didn’t look out for each other to win gratitude. They protected each other instinctually, without thinking. Sokka remembered the way he had felt before, when he had moved toward Zuko back in the arena. He’d jumped because…well, because he had no other choice. There was no world where Zuko could be hurt without Sokka giving everything he had to stop it. 

He would never expect Zuko to thank him for that. It would be like thanking a vein for pumping blood. 

While Sokka thought, Zuko had curled back up against his side, breathing easily. Sokka hated to disturb him, but there was something he needed to do. Something he needed Zuko to be there for. 

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Sokka announced. No, that wasn’t the _thing._ It was just a good cover story in case he got to their bathroom and decided to picken out. 

“Mmm,” Zuko responded, lifting his hand from Sokka’s leg to let him go.

Sokka sat up. There was still some pain in his chest, but it had died down for the most part. He stood and found he was able to walk over to their bathroom without too much effort. Then, he looked in the mirror. 

He was a mess. 

First of all, his hair looked absolutely terrible. In hindsight, it was really, really nice that neither Zuko, nor Katara, nor any of the healers in the hospital had commented on just how bad it looked. The strands were all different lengths, but none long enough to tie up in his standard wolftail. Instead, they hung absurdly from his head or stuck crookedly up in all directions. It was flat out _embarrassing._ And even beyond the hair, he looked…rough. There were bags under his eyes, and cuts and bruises all up and down his arms. 

The one welcome sight was the engagement necklace, sitting proud and certain at the base of Sokka’s throat. Sokka reached up a hand to stroke it reverently. The fact that he had almost lost it made it all the more precious, and he swore to himself he would never let that happen again. He liked the weight of it; the necklace’s hug was a constant reminder that Zuko wanted him for life. 

_Okay,_ Sokka thought. _Here goes nothing._

He slipped his fingers under the hem of his tunic, and…

 _Nope nope nope._ He couldn’t do it. 

_Stop being an idiot,_ he told himself. It was going to happen sooner or later. Might as well be sooner so he could start getting used to his new self. 

Sokka fumbled with the fabric again, but couldn’t bring himself to tug it off. 

This was a job that required backup. 

“Zuko,” he called out. 

“Hmmm?” came the reply from the bed. 

“Can you come here?”

Sokka heard their bed rustle, and then Zuko was joining him in the bathroom. “Everything okay? I didn’t realize Azula hit you there, too.”

“That’s _not_ what I meant!” Sokka said anxiously. Okay, it was a pretty funny joke, especially coming from his humor-challenged fiancé, but now was not the time. “I need your help. I’m…scared.”

“Of going to the bathroom.”

“No!” Sokka sighed. “I want to see what my chest looks like. But I’m too nervous to look.”

He had been scared for the past week that he’d been bedridden. Even as the nurses changed him or as Katara healed him, Sokka had been too afraid to look down and see the damage Azula had done to his body. 

“Oh. Okay.” Zuko came up behind him. He was _just_ tall enough that his eyes could peer over Sokka’s shoulder and meet Sokka’s in the mirror. “What should I do?”

“Will you take my shirt off?”

Zuko was kind enough not to make another joke of the request. He nodded seriously, and Sokka squeezed his eyes shut. 

He felt Zuko’s hands press gently into his hips and begin to move slowly. For a few moments he held Sokka like that, rubbing Sokka’s sides up and down through his clothes, urging Sokka to let his weight rest on the body behind him. Then Zuko dipped his hands down, slipping his fingers just slightly beneath Sokka’s tunic and using his fingertips to stroke Sokka’s abs, brushing against his belly button and the trail of hair that grew beneath it. Sokka tensed under the touch and the sense of anticipation behind it. 

Finally, Zuko grabbed the hem of the tunic. 

“I’m gonna take it off now, okay?”

“Okay,” Sokka said, eyes still shut, leaning back into Zuko’s solid chest. 

“Lift your arms up for me, baby.” 

Sokka did it, and Zuko slowly slid the top up off his body. 

Sokka heard the quiet flutter of the tunic hitting the floor, and then he heard Zuko exhale. “Wow, Zuko said softly. “Sokka. Open your eyes.”

Sokka did as he was told. 

“Fuck,” was all he could say. 

Because his chest was _ruined._ What had once been smooth pecs and abs were now marred with angry, uneven ridges of red scar tissue. It looked like a meteor had hit Sokka’s chest and left an empty crater behind – a timeless reminder of destruction that would be with him the rest of his life. It was absolutely horrible. 

“I look…” he tried, but couldn’t even finish the sentence. What was there to say? Words couldn’t describe the disappointment bubbling up under his skin. 

“Hideous? Deformed? Disfigured?” 

Sokka felt like he’d been stung. “Wow, _ouch,_ salt in the wound much?”

Zuko’s hands came up to rest on Sokka’s waist. “That’s how I felt. When I first got my scar. I avoided mirrors for months. When I did have to look at myself, it was like a reminder that no one would ever love me.” 

“Oh, Zuko,” Sokka said, tearing his eyes away from own his scar to meet Zuko’s gaze in the mirror. The rings of red that marked the right side of Zuko’s face were so omnipresent that Sokka barely registered the scar most of the time; when he did, it was with nothing _but_ love. 

“It’s okay, because you know better than anyone that it wasn’t true.” Zuko pressed a soft kiss against Sokka’s neck, just above the band of the engagement necklace. “I’m just saying, I get it.” 

“Hmm.” Sokka heard Zuko, but couldn’t find it in himself to really believe him. 

“If the scar scares anyone away, then they don’t deserve to know you,” Zuko recited. “Or were you lying? Every time you told me that?”

“No! No, of course I wasn’t lying,” Sokka said quickly. How could he explain that Zuko was gorgeous, and made even more beautiful by his scars, whereas Sokka was barely average-looking and even less so with this new deformity? Especially when Zuko was consistently incapable of appreciating his own beauty? He looked down at the ugly scar again. “It’s just that. You’re _you._ And I’m _me._ ”

“ _Sokka,_ ” came the immediate rebuke. “First of all, I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but just stop. Second, I know it’s hard to look at now, but as time passes and it heals more, it will get easier. And third,” and he wrapped his arms tight around Sokka’s waist for emphasis, “I think you look amazing.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying!” Zuko said, his eyes wide. “It’s actually surprisingly sexy. I feel like I finally understand what you meant every time you said my scar made me hotter.” 

“Hmm,” Sokka said again. So maybe Zuko wasn’t lying, he was just delusional.

“Look.” Zuko stepped away from him, and in an instant he was shirtless too, revealing the faded pink scar he bore from his last run-in with Azula. He stood next to Sokka and tucked himself under Sokka’s arm, wrapping one arm around his waist. “See? Now we match. That’s kind of cool, right?” 

Sokka studied the image in the mirror, two warriors-turned-world leaders with the scars to prove it. He had to admit, together like that, they did look pretty cool. 

He wrapped his arm around Zuko’s shoulder. “You might be onto something, babe.” 

“Right?” 

“Plus, mine even has a better backstory than yours. I mean, I got my scar saving the _Fire Lord._ You just got yours saving my little sister,” Sokka teased him. Okay, he was starting to feel a little better. That probably had a little something to do with the firebender hugging him, but who knew? 

“That’s all I am to you? Clout?” Zuko feigned offense, but it was a little difficult through the giant grin on his face. 

“You know it, baby,” Sokka said, reeling Zuko in and nuzzling his hair with his nose. “Where would I be without you? Actually, don’t answer that.”

Zuko didn’t; he just laughed. Sokka stared back into the mirror. Instead of focusing on the scar, he focused on Zuko. Zuko, whose eyes were looking certainly back at him, not with horror, but with pure _love._

Something about this whole situation felt utterly backwards, and not just because of the reflection in the mirror. Their conversations so often played out in the reverse of this one. Zuko would hesitate, and Sokka would chip away at the issue until he uncovered the source. More often than not, the odd emotional hang-up would turn out to be yet another byproduct of the unforgivable treatment Zuko had been subjected to throughout his life. On the one hand, it was horrific; but on the other, it was fine, because validating Zuko came naturally to Sokka. It was easy because there was just so much to validate, and because Sokka never tired of telling Zuko so. All this was why it was strange, but not uncomfortable, to see _Zuko_ now fitting so seamlessly into that role.

 _When did Zuko get so strong?_ Sokka wondered again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is already written, so it should be up very soon! Thanks again to everyone who has read and enjoyed this story so far, your support means everything to me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Sokka remember food from home, and trust their sisters not to kill them.

At long last, Zuko was able coax Sokka back in their bed, and there time passed like syrup: slow, sticky, and sweet. The only thing that could stop Zuko from continuing to place reverent, languid kisses on every surface of Sokka’s trembling body was the arrival of Katara, who promptly kicked him out. He wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about abandoning Sokka when he was still so unsteady on his feet, but at the same time, Zuko knew there were no more capable hands in which to leave Sokka. Besides, he had something he needed to do. 

He greeted his guards, who had been waiting stoically at his bedroom door, and directed them to follow along. Together, they backtracked to the hospital wing he’d delivered Sokka from not long before. Instead of stopping in the main wing, however, they continued on, toward the stairs in the back, and climbed up to the hall of private rooms on the hospital’s second level. There, Zuko saw the older Northern Water Tribe healer from before, closing the door of one of the rooms behind her. 

“My Lord,” she said by way of greeting. She didn’t bow, and Zuko appreciated it. They’d seen so much of each other the past few days that it hardly seemed appropriate. Zuko wondered vaguely if she felt less respect for the Fire Lord after watching him cuddle his injured fiancé every night as he was being healed, but decided he didn’t really care that much.

“Hello,” Zuko said. He cleared his throat. “I’m here to see…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence. It was all still so crazy, like something out of a dream. His anxiety told him that this wasn’t really happening; or worse, that it was happening, but that he was going to make one wrong move and send it all crashing down.

“You’re here to see the princess,” the healer finished for him with a knowing nod. 

“Yes.”

“This is her room,” the healer told him, gesturing to the one she had just exited. 

Zuko studied the healer. She seemed unscathed, not at all like she’d just fought for her life against the angry princess. That was surprising, but encouraging. 

“How is she?” Zuko asked. 

“It’s hard to say,” the healer admitted. “She is sedated, and restrained. She could firebend, if she chose to. But she hasn’t tried.”

“She hasn’t hurt anyone?” Zuko was definitely shocked to hear that, especially considering how set Azula had been on killing him and Sokka both just a week ago. 

“Not at all. She’s barely even spoken. To be honest, she just seems very…sad.” The healer seemed troubled. “We are providing for her every need, but there doesn’t seem to be a change.” She looked at him meaningfully. “I think a visit from you might help.”

_Doubtful,_ Zuko thought, wondering if there had ever been a time in their lives when seeing him had made Azula happier – and if there had been, it had no doubt been because she was expecting to kill him. Still, he couldn’t be scared away now. 

“Thank you,” he told the healer. Considering what she’d told him, he turned to his guards, who he guessed were probably very upset with him for insisting on being here in the first place. Azula really hadn’t tried to firebend? That seemed so unlike her, and yet he wanted more than anything to believe it. “Stay out here,” he decided. “I’ll call for you if I need you.”

The guards looked dubious, but they stationed themselves silently on either side of the door without protest. 

Zuko faced the door and hesitated one last time. 

Over the last week he’d contemplated and planned what he would say to her once they were finally face to face. After all, what could he say that would make up for six years spent in prison, or a lifetime of being turned against each other? It felt like an utterly hopeless endeavor. But he had to try. 

He breathed in deep, and pushed open the door. 

Azula lay on a plush white bed in the middle of a spacious, bright hospital room. It was much nicer than the open wing where Sokka had stayed, and Zuko wondered if that was because the healers expected her stay to be much longer. His sister appeared to be asleep, her eyes closed and her breathing steady. Her hands and feet were bound to the bed by loose restraints that were slack enough to give her a fairly wide range of movement. On her bedside table was a tray of hospital food, untouched.

“Azula,” Zuko said softly. 

She didn’t move. 

Zuko approached the bed. There was a little seat there, like what he’d slept in while he waited for Sokka to wake up. He dragged it toward the bed, trying to be unperturbed at the thought of being so squarely within Azula’s firebending range. Although his every instinct told him otherwise, he tried to trust her. 

“Azula,” he tried again, a little louder this time. 

She breathed in sharply, and her body stirred, turning toward the sound. With a tiny moan, her eyes fluttered open. She looked at Zuko, her face twisting ever so slightly, not with anger, but with confusion. 

Zuko felt at a loss for words. “Hello,” he said finally. 

Azula didn’t answer. 

Zuko had been emotionally prepared for angry torments, not for silence. He looked awkwardly around the room. “This, uh, this place is nice. They seem to be taking good care of you,” he said. Azula didn’t give any indication that she heard what he was saying. 

Zuko turned back toward her. “The healer told me you’re doing well. I was really happy to hear that.”

Azula said nothing. 

Zuko sighed. Somehow, talking to himself was even more uncomfortable than an argument. “Look. I came to talk to you. And to tell you that…I want things to be different. With us.” Azula looked at him. “I’m not gonna send you back to prison, Azula. You’re going to stay here. And when you feel well enough, you can come live in the palace. With…with me.” 

Zuko thought that might excite her, or disgust her, or cause her to feel _something,_ but Azula had no reaction to his words. She just stared. 

“We don’t have to be enemies,” he said finally. “That was something our parents did to us. But they don’t control us anymore. We can choose who we want to be. I’m choosing to be your brother, and I hope you choose to be my sister, too.”

Those words did have some impact on Azula. She turned her head away from Zuko and faced the ceiling, eyes still open. 

Zuko remembered something else. “Oh, um, right. I know I told you that Sokka was dead, but he’s…he’s not. He’s okay, actually. He’s here in the palace, too.” Zuko tried not to feel angry as he remembered the casually cruel way Azula had referred to Sokka, not to mention the bolt of lightning she had put through his body. It wasn’t her fault, he knew. 

“I know we didn’t know anyone from the Water Tribe growing up. Our father made sure of that,” Zuko went on. “So I know you don’t really understand. Loving someone from outside the Fire Nation. But he’s an amazing man. He’s the best person I’ve ever known.” 

Zuko was feeling braver, thinking of what Sokka might think if he could see Zuko now. 

“We’re getting married,” Zuko told Azula, with a hint of pride in his voice. “He’s going to be my husband soon. And I hope…I really, really hope the two of you will be able to have a relationship someday. I hope you’ll see what I see in him.” 

Azula closed her eyes. 

Zuko took that as his cue to leave. He didn’t want to overwhelm her, but he hoped she had understood what he was trying to tell her. 

“Okay. I guess I’ll let you rest,” Zuko said, standing from the seat. Then, he said something else, before he even realized his brain had formed the words. “I love you.”

The statement sounded foreign when directed at Azula. Zuko wondered if he had _ever_ told Azula he loved her; even if he had, he certainly hadn’t meant it. But as he stood in shock at the sound of his own voice, he thought that this time, he might have. 

He was halfway across the room when he heard her. 

“Zuzu,” she rasped, so soft it was scarcely louder than a whisper. 

Zuko whipped around. Azula’s eyes were open now, and her face was shimmering with tears. 

“Yes,” he said, not sure if it was a question or a greeting or an insult or something else. He walked back over to her, and she looked up at him. 

“Fruit…tart…” Azula said with some difficulty. 

Zuko felt his brow furrow in confusion. Fruit tart? 

Involuntarily, his brain provided a long-forgotten memory of their childhood. He remembered now, the way Azula had smuggled fruit tarts around the palace. The little desserts hadn’t been baked by their parents, who couldn’t be bothered to cook for their children, or by the royal chefs, who constantly reminded Azula to watch her weight, but by Ty Lee’s mother, who would sneak Azula a batch every time she came over. 

“Fruit tart,” Zuko repeated, and Azula nodded emphatically, saying nothing. 

“Okay, I’ll make sure they bring you some,” Zuko told her, hoping that was what she was trying to tell him. Azula looked pleased to hear it. She let her eyes shut once more and breathed contentedly. 

Zuko watched her for a few more moments before leaving quietly. On the whole, the encounter had gone worlds better than he had expected. Azula hadn’t tried to kill him, which was more than could be said about most of their interactions since they’d been children. And beyond that, she had even seemed slightly…receptive? Zuko hoped he wasn’t just imagining that. 

His guards looked at him curiously as he stepped into the hall. He gave them a small smile; he really was okay, against all expectations. There was a young healer passing by in the hallway, and Zuko stopped her with a raised hand. 

“My sister is staying here,” Zuko told her. “I want her to have the best possible treatment.” The healer nodded, although Zuko didn’t doubt that the healers provided uniformly excellent care regardless of the patient. 

“And please. Bring her some fruit tarts.”

* * *

The minute the door closed behind Zuko, Katara held forward the bulky bag over her shoulder and threw off the top flap. 

“I come bearing snacks,” she sang with a grin. 

Sokka’s eyes opened wide as the unmistakable salty scent hit him. “Holy shit. Is that…?”

“Yup. Boiled sea prunes,” Katara said, her eyes glittering as she pulled out the steaming container.

“Want to go eat them on the balcony?” Sokka asked, gesturing toward it. “I just hate – ”

“Eating inside?” Katara finished, nodding knowingly. “Totally. What is it with the Fire Nation and eating indoors? When I eat anything inside it just – ”

“Tastes wrong!” they said in unison. Katara laughed, a sound that Sokka realized he missed like crazy. He draped an arm around Katara’s shoulder – it made him wince a little, but it was worth it – and lead her out onto the little balcony. “I’m seriously so glad you’re here,” he told her. 

“Me too.”

Sokka sat down on the balcony floor and slid his legs between the slats in the railing so they hung freely in the open air. It was a beautiful day, not as burning hot as the Fire Nation could get sometimes, but temperate and breezy. Katara watched Sokka and did the same, and they both let their feet dangle over the balcony ledge in the soft wind. 

“Where did you get these, anyway?” Sokka asked as Katara set the dish of prunes down between them. “I haven’t had them since the last time I went South. It must have been a year ago…even more than that, maybe?”

“Actually, I got them in the Fire Nation,” Katara said, picking up a prune to examine it critically. “A few weeks ago, when Aang and I were visiting some governor. They wanted me to have a traditional Southern Water Tribe gift, so they gave me a barrel of dried ones to take with me. It was pretty thoughtful, honestly.” Katara shrugged. “Better than the random trinkets we normally get. Anyway, today I brought these down to the kitchens and they heated them up for me.”

“That’s incredible. Clearly Zuko needs to enact a sea prune tax on that province so we can get a steady flow of prune income going,” Sokka said, picking one up himself. He could have been eating sea prunes all along, and he never knew? What other Southern food was hiding here in the Fire Nation? “Have I ever mentioned how cool it is that you’re married to the Avatar?”

Katara smiled – a little more bashful, more quietly proud, the way she always got when talking about Aang. “You might have mentioned it.” She knocked her foot against Sokka’s swaying ankle teasingly. “Some would say it’s even cooler being married to the Fire Lord.”

“Well, duh,” Sokka said, kicking her back with equal force. “I was just trying to make you feel better.”

“Uh huh.”

“Shall we?”

They tapped the prunes together, as if to say “cheers!” and then popped them into their mouths. The air on the balcony was quiet for a few moments as they chewed thoughtfully. 

Katara was the first to swallow. “Does it taste a little too…”

“Flavorful?” Sokka nodded emphatically. “Like, I’m supposed to taste sea, and prune. What’s all this extra stuff?” 

“Someone must have added some seasoning,” Katara agreed, wrinkling her nose. “I’m sorry, Sokka, I didn’t realize. You don’t have to eat them.”

“Are you kidding? They taste amazing!” Sokka said, popping two more into his mouth. “Totally wrong. But amazing.”

Katara laughed and grabbed another prune. “The Fire Nation _might_ be onto something here.”

“Now you see why I’ve stuck around so long,” Sokka said. 

“Right…” Katara said slowly. “Just the food, right? Nothing else?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sokka said innocently. He took a bite into another prune and swallowed. “How are you and Aang, by the way? Zuko mentioned…something.” 

Zuko really had only mentioned a vague _something_ that had happened between Aang and Katara while Sokka slept. Sokka didn’t know much beyond the fact that there had been a conflict; Zuko had been too tightlipped to reveal more. 

“We’re good,” Katara said thoughtfully. “He wasn’t happy that I went with Zuko that night. I guess we’re still trying to figure out how to navigate marriage. Adulthood.” Sokka nodded. “It’s funny though. I used to think we were so different. When actually, we’re _so_ alike. We’re both just so…protective, of the people we love. So it works, I think.”

Sokka smiled. That was one characteristic he loved about Aang. It had made it easy to accept Aang as his brother a year ago, and long before that. Sokka never had a doubt that Aang would do everything in his power to keep Katara safe, even when she made that difficult. 

“How are you and Zuko?” Katara asked, nudging Sokka’s ankle. 

Sokka’s lips curled into a smile before he could stop himself. He’d hastily thrown on a shirt when Katara had knocked earlier, so she couldn’t see all the bruises Zuko had kissed into his skin, but Sokka felt them burning now. Like he always did when someone asked about his fiancé, he took time now to make a conscious effort to censor himself, filtering the library of love songs for Zuko constantly playing in his head down to something more socially acceptable before he put it into words. Otherwise, they would be there all day. 

Katara seemed to recognize what he was doing. “It’s okay, you can tell me,” she said with a playful smile. “No judgment.” 

She didn’t know what she was saying. “You don’t want to open the floodgates,” Sokka insisted. He loved Zuko with his whole heart, and he was proud of that. But that didn’t mean he completely lacked social skills, goddammit. He had already bored Katara to death with more than her fair share of Zuko rants before he’d even thought to put the words _love_ and _Zuko_ in the same sentence (because yeah, he’d needed a lot of Katara’s help before he figured that one out). Now, it was only fair to spare her all his gooey feelings. 

“As if you’re not dying to talk about him!” Katara said, pushing her brother playfully. “Come on, let it out.” 

Sokka’s smile grew wider, if that was even possible. The floodgates were open now. 

“It’s just that – ” he started. Wait, what was he trying to say? His brain had instantly flown in a hundred directions toward all the Zuko-inspired emotions that he suddenly, desperately needed to put into words. He was so overwhelmed with his feelings that he found himself a little tongue-tied. 

“Okay, you know how – like how he’s – the way that he – what I’m trying to say is – ” he attempted, punctuating the words with illustrative flailing. _Ugh._ This wasn’t working. Sokka threw his face into his hands with giddy frustration. “You don’t understand,” he moaned pitifully, voice muffled by his palms. “Okay, well, maybe you do,” he corrected himself, because yeah, okay, she was married and all that, but still, “ _but still –_ ”

Finally, he let out a massive sigh and fell backwards, plopping flat on his back on the balcony and staring straight up at the blindingly blue sky. 

“Katara. What did I do to deserve this? I mean, I know I’ve got good qualities. But spirits, the way he talks it’s like I’m fucking flawless. Like, I’m basically crippled now and he told me he thought it was _hot._ ” Sokka sighed. “When he’s fucking _Zuko._ He’s the most loving, thoughtful, incredible person I’ve ever met, not to mention he’s _fucking gorgeous._ Tell me, what did I do to deserve to wake up with _that_ every day?”

Katara was laughing at him, which was totally unfair – wasn’t this supposed to be a no-judgment zone? But Sokka was on a roll now and he wasn’t stopping anytime soon. The floodgates were open!

“Like, he loves me more than I ever thought anyone would _ever_ love me. And I’m not saying that to be angsty or insecure,” he added, when Katara giggled some more. “I’m saying that because it’s just really…crazy.”

“It is crazy!” Katara said. Sokka knew she was mocking him, but he didn’t care. 

“And you know what else is crazy,” he went on. “He gets better. He gets _stronger._ I loved the kid I started dating, Katara, I mean I loved him to death, but Zuko is not him anymore. He’s just so… _confident_ now. So _secure._ He literally sleeps on me in public now. He put this on me, for fuck’s sake.” Sokka reached up a hand and stroked the whalebone carving around his neck. Seventeen-year-old Zuko would have rather died than let anyone know they might be boyfriends; this year he’d asked Sokka if he could tell the whole world that they were even more. 

“I feel…giddy, when I think about him,” Sokka said, as if that wasn’t obvious. “You would think that would die down after all these years, but it hasn’t. If anything, I think I’ve gotten even more crazy about him.”

“I think you’re right,” Katara said with a grin. 

Sokka let out another lovestruck sigh and turned to her. “You think I’m ridiculous, don’t you?”

“A little. But I also think you’re right.” Katara’s face grew more serious, and she looked thoughtful. “You’re both different now. Zuko is stronger, you’re right. It blew my mind to see him taking care of you. I mean, you should have seen the look on his face when he brought you back here. It was just…” She shuddered, and didn’t finish the thought. “But Sokka, _you’re_ different too. You’re just so… _happy._ ” Her eyes shimmered in the summer sunlight. “You’re happier than I’ve ever seen you. And that just makes me so – ” her voice cracked, and she smiled a little at herself “ – happy.”

Sokka smiled up into the sky. “It makes me happy too.”

They soaked in the warmth contentedly, finishing off the sea prunes and thinking. 

“Hey,” Katara said suddenly, putting a hand on Sokka’s shoulder. “Let me cut your hair.”

Sokka squinted at her, suspicious. “Have you ever cut anyone’s hair before?”

“Well, no, but…” Katara looked at him pleadingly. “Come on, Sokka. It can’t look any worse than it does now!”

“Ouch, but, fair,” Sokka said, smiling. His hair did look like crap, and maybe a new do would make him feel a little less unworthy of the incredible love he’d unwittingly stumbled upon. “Sure. Why not? Let’s do it.”

They clamored up from the balcony floor and back into the bedroom. Katara dragged a chair into the bathroom and Sokka dug through his desk drawers until he found a pair of scissors. They definitely were not made for cutting hair, but like Katara had said, it wasn’t like he could look any worse. 

“Careful around the ears,” Sokka told her, passing her the scissors and falling into the chair. 

“I’ll do my best…” Katara’s voice was hesitant. Hesitant to a degree that Sokka was not comfortable with when there were scissors so close to his face. 

“Please try to sound more confident than that. I really like them both,” Sokka said.

Katara snorted, but she didn’t smile. She actually looked a little…sad?

“What’s up?” Sokka asked, concerned. “Hey, I changed my mind. You can trim the ears if you want. Gran-Gran always said they were too big, anyways.” 

Katara sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…I hate seeing you like this.” Sokka started to protest, but she cut him off. “Sokka. If someone from back home were to see you, you know what they would think.”

Sokka shut his mouth. He knew what she meant. There was a stigma that came with having short hair, back in the Southern Water Tribe. Only once, as a very young child, had Sokka watched his father cut off a man’s wolftail and banish him from the tribe. No one ever spoke of the sheared man again, and yet the thought of him was forever burned in Sokka’s memory. 

But they weren’t in the Southern Water Tribe. And besides, Sokka hadn’t done anything to deserve that stigma.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he told his sister. “But it’s not like that. It’s not a punishment, it’s just my hair. It’ll grow back!” When she didn’t look reassured, he gestured to the mess on his head. “Would you rather I just look like this for the next month?” 

That made Katara crack a smile. “It does look pretty awful doesn’t it?” 

“Yes. It does. _Please_ fix me. I’m begging you!” 

“Okay, okay.” Katara pulled one strand taught. She looked at warily before cutting it off with a _snip_ close to Sokka’s scalp. 

“Bet that gave you a rush, didn’t it?” 

“I think I might go mad with power,” Katara agreed, grabbing another piece and snipping it off. “This is weirdly addictive.” 

“Okay, don’t go too crazy though,” Sokka teased. But despite his words, he trusted her completely. 

They stayed there in the bathroom, chatting about life and food and the South and nothing at all. As he watched the two of them in the mirror, Sokka found himself forgetting about his scarred chest and focusing on other things, like the way Katara’s tongue poked out between her teeth when she concentrated hard on one lock of hair or the way her forehead wrinkled as she decided where to cut next. Sokka couldn’t help but feel warm as he watched her work. She’d grown up so quickly, and yet she was still the same silly teenage girl Sokka had grown up with. 

Sokka saw himself, too. Staring into his reflection for that long, he took in the little details that he normally didn’t have time to catalogue, like the tiny creases that framed his eyes even when he wasn’t laughing, or the barely visible freckles now splayed across his shoulders, baked in by Fire Nation sunshine. Was that what Zuko noticed, when he looked at Sokka? Was that why he was able to ignore the obvious? Because if that was the case, then maybe – _just_ maybe – Sokka could understand. 

Katara took a step back, studying his head thoughtfully. “Okay, I _think_ I’m done. What do you think?”

Sokka admired himself, tilting his head from side to side to capture all of its angles. His hair was cropped close to his scalp, shorter than he remembered ever wearing it. It felt odd to move without the usual _swish_ of his wolftail, but it looked good. Neat, maybe even a little militaristic. Sokka thought it made him look kind of…tough. Strong. “Actually, I really like it!” he told Katara.

“You don’t have to sound so surprised!”

“I was worried you were just gonna shave my head like a monk!”

Katara rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Here, let me get the sides too,” she said, grabbing Sokka’s razor from the bathroom sink. His buzzed undercut had grown out quite a bit, Sokka noticed, and he was grateful when Katara shaved it down to its normal length. Once she was done, she stepped around in front of him and got his jaw and his upper lip, too. 

“Wow,” Sokka said when she stepped away. It felt like his normal self was finally starting to emerge in the reflection before him. “Thank you so much, Katara. It seriously looks so good.”

She didn’t respond. When Sokka heard her sniffle, he whipped around. She had begun to cry, he realized despite the hand fighting to hide her face from his sight. 

“What? Nooo,” Sokka said, instinctively leaping up and pulling her into his arms. She started to sob into his shirt. “What’s wrong?” 

“I shouldn’t have let this happen to you!” she yelled between gasps for air. “I should have known this would happen. I – I should have been there for you! I should have protected you!”

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Sokka murmured. “You didn’t know. There was nothing you could have done!”

Katara clung to him, with a tightness that was physically painful for his damaged chest. “Yes, there was,” she insisted. “I should have stayed with you. I should have made sure no one touched you. Spirits, Sokka, I’m _so_ sorry. This is all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault!” Sokka swore to her. “Please don’t apologize. If anything, it’s my fault for not listening to you.”

Katara sniffled. She pulled away from his chest, which was now soaking wet, and looked him in the eye. “Maybe I should stay here. With you. I won’t be able to live with myself if something else happens and I’m not there to…” she trailed off, looking down. 

“Katara. You can’t stay in the Fire Nation.” Sokka said gently. “You hate it here.”

“Well,” she looked up at him. Her eyes were quivering, and Sokka wasn’t sure if she was going to cry or laugh. “The food here is good, at least.”

Sokka laughed, grateful to be onto a lighter subject. “Yes, it is.”

“I was so, _so_ scared for you, Sokka. It was like I was holding your life in my hands. I hope I never have to feel that ever again.” Katara looked broken, and Sokka’s heart ached to think that he had put her through that. “And like, thank the spirits I was here this time, and you’re fine. But now when I leave, I’m just going to be worried sick that I’m not going to be able to save you the next time you decide to be an idiot and risk your life like that.”

Sokka let the insult slide. “Look, I’m not gonna promise that I won’t get into trouble again. Because let’s be honest, trouble kind of follows us around, doesn’t it?” Katara smiled, and she had to nod. “But listen. I promise to keep my shenanigans to a minimum. And if that doesn’t work, there are plenty of healers here who are pretty much required to fix me up. Plus, I have…you know.”

Sokka didn’t want to say “Zuko” so soon after his gush-sesh, but it was true. Sokka wasn’t sure who was more invested in his safety, Katara or Zuko, but he knew it was a close race. Sokka was positive that Zuko already had a twenty-five-point plan to ensure Sokka never so much as stubbed his toe ever again. Katara really had nothing to worry about. 

She nodded again. “I know you have Zuko. And I know he takes good care of you. He’s amazing, and I’m so glad you have him, but…” She sighed. “You can’t blame me for worrying, can you?”

“No. Of course not. That’s your job,” Sokka assured her. “Just like it’s mine to tell you everything is going to be just fine.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wins the award for most rewrites! There was so much I wanted to convey in these short exchanges, so I hope everything that was in my brain comes across on paper. 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone reading and commenting! This story is going to be wrapped up very soon, and I'm so glad it has made others as happy as it has made me.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka decides to keep his promises. Zuko decides to keep Sokka.

_My future husband,_

_I miss you so much already._

_I’ve just been informed that apparently, the world continued to turn while you were indisposed. I’m feeling shocked and betrayed. Unfortunately, there are a few matters of national import requiring my attention that will keep me away from you for just a little while longer. Please enjoy your time with your sister and stay safe. You’ll be in my thoughts until I see you again._

_Forever yours,  
Zuko_

Sokka reread Zuko’s pointed cursive with more than a little disappointment. Being the Fire Lord and all, Zuko was always getting pulled into random meetings and disputes and task forces – that was just another part of the gig. Sokka had known their little sick-leave-slash-vacation couldn’t last forever, but he’d hoped that at least it might last a little longer. 

Still, looking down at the hand-delivered note gave him an idea. Sokka turned to Katara. 

“Can you help me with something?” 

* * *

The three of them milled about in the foyer just inside of the entrance of the palace. Katara and Aang were dressed head-to-toe in their trendiest Fire Nation reds, and Sokka had gone a little out of his comfort zone by wearing a sleeveless V-neck, one that normally drove Zuko nuts, but one that today made Sokka a little self-conscious because it left the very top of his new scar exposed for all to see. They’d been waiting there for about fifteen minutes now, and Aang and Katara were getting restless. 

“Are you _sure_ he’s coming?” Katara asked. 

“Yes!” Sokka snapped. “I told you, he’ll be here any second. He’s just a little busy running an _entire nation?_ ”

“Yeah, yeah,” Katara said with a wave of her hand. 

“Whenever I need to get out of a boring meeting, I just say there’s a Spirit World emergency,” Aang offered helpfully. “Works every time!”

“I’ll have to try that one next time,” Sokka replied dryly. 

Finally, three figures rounded the corner at the other end of the hallway. Sokka was thrilled to see that it was Zuko, clad in casual blue clothing but mostly hidden by a hooded black cloak. Following behind him were two burly men that Sokka recognized as Zuko’s guards, but instead of their typical armor, they were wearing casual trousers and shirts. Somehow it looked even _more_ conspicuous for Zuko to be followed by two random, muscled men as opposed to his typical armed guards, but tonight’s purposes, this was as good as it was gonna get. 

“You got my letter!” Sokka exclaimed. He skipped down the hallway (something that was much easier after another healing session with Katara) and met Zuko halfway, pouncing on him with a limb-filled hug. 

“Of course I did,” Zuko said into his shoulder. “I didn’t quite know what you meant when you wrote ‘wear your sexiest disguise,’ but – ”

“The correct answer was this hood with nothing underneath,” Sokka told him, pulling back to give Zuko a peck on the forehead. “But this works too.” 

“Next time,” Zuko promised him. He grabbed both of Sokka’s hands with a smile. “You look – ”

At that moment, Zuko caught sight of Sokka’s hair for the first time. He froze, and Sokka watched as a deep red blush bloomed across Zuko’s cheeks. 

“You like it?” Sokka grinned. He let go of Zuko’s hands to do a slow spin for him. “Katara cut it for me while you were gone.” 

“Sokka, you…” Zuko stuttered. Without warning, he grabbed Sokka’s head with both hands and pulled him into a deep, lusty kiss. Sokka tilted his head with pleasant surprise and eager compliance as Zuko’s lips parted around his, saying something that sounded less like _I missed you_ and more like _I need to get you back into bed as soon as possible._ Maybe remembering that they were in semi-public, Zuko pulled away before Sokka could take him up on that offer. He fell a step back and reached up to run his fingers over Sokka’s short hair. 

“Babe, what – ”

“I’ll…tell you later,” Zuko said, his cheeks still pink. 

“Hello? Lovebirds?” Katara called from down the hall. 

“We’re coming!” Sokka yelled back. He looped his arm around Zuko’s and grabbed his hand with a tight squeeze. “Ready to go?” 

“Where exactly are we going?” Zuko asked, letting Sokka lead him blindly along as his guards fell in behind them. 

“I promised Katara and Aang I would take them out into the city before they leave the Fire Nation tomorrow.” They caught up to the couple, and together the six of them made their way out of the palace entrance. “Plus, you know, I thought it would be a good way to celebrate all of us making it out of this past week alive.” 

“Hm. I suppose that is worth celebrating,” Zuko said, pressing closer against Sokka’s side and making Sokka feel warm all over. 

Sokka brought them to a popular bar in the downtown area of the city. Sokka loved the place for its round-the-clock live music and regularly-rotating menu of pretty cocktails, Zuko loved it because Sokka loved it, and Zuko’s guards loved it because it was crowded enough that no one would notice that the Fire Lord himself was stopping by for drinks. For years, Sokka had been dying to drag Katara and Aang here so that he’d finally have a dance partner or two to join him on the bar’s packed dance floor. Zuko did a lot of things for Sokka, but dancing was not one of those things. 

They settled on a round booth in the corner of the bar that was close enough to the band to make their music enjoyable without being deafening. Zuko’s guards split up and inconspicuously occupied the two tables on either side of theirs, meaning Sokka could relax without worrying about some assassin sneaking up on Zuko and killing the vibe. The four of them laughed and talked together, with Sokka’s arm wrapped lazily around Zuko’s shoulders and Zuko’s hand on his knee under the table. 

Eventually, they got thirsty. “Sokka, why don’t you get us something to drink?” Katara asked. 

“What, you’re gonna make the cripple do it?” Sokka said indignantly. 

“Please? You’re on the outside of the booth.”

“So’s Aang!” 

“But you know what’s actually good here.”

Sokka felt Zuko’s hand tighten around his leg, ready to defend him at a moment’s notice. “Okay, okay, that’s fair,” Sokka said. He turned and gave Zuko a goodbye smooch on the cheek. “Be right back. Don’t miss me too much, babe.”

“I’ll try not to,” Zuko said sweetly, while Katara rolled her eyes knowingly and Aang giggled. 

“You know _we’re_ the newlyweds here, right?” Katara reminded him. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Sokka said. This whole _thing_ with Zuko? Not a honeymoon phase. Sokka was still going to be smooching him goodbye when they were sixty.

Sokka wound his way through the throng of people toward the bar and studied the new drinks on the menu. There was a two-for-the-price-of-one deal on something called the Face Stealer, which certainly sounded intriguing, and Sokka _was_ a sucker for drink deals...But, remembering Aang’s embarrassingly low tolerance for alcohol, he eventually settled on ordering four Painted Ladies. It was a classic, and besides, Katara would get a kick out of the name. 

“Hey man, I love your tattoos.”

Sokka turned toward the source of the remark. The voice belonged to a fit Fire Nation man, with short, curly hair and a tight shirt that showed off his well-defined muscles as he leaned on the bar a few feet away. 

“Hey, thanks!” Sokka smiled at the compliment. It was rare for him to get positive comments on his tattoos here in the Fire Nation, where ink was a lot less common. At home, tattoos were commonplace; here, they were downright _exotic._ “I got them done by a guy down in the Southern Water Tribe.”

“Southern Water Tribe, huh?” The man took a step closer, right into Sokka’s personal space, and grabbed Sokka’s tattooed forearm with an iron grip. He was few inches taller than Sokka and a great deal broader too. “You’ll have to take me with you someday,” the man murmured. He took another step forward and pressed himself right up against Sokka’s body, leaning in so close to Sokka’s ear that Sokka could feel his breath as he whispered, “You’d keep me warm, right gorgeous?” 

Sokka yanked his arm away and took two big steps backwards. “I’m – ”

_Not interested? Taken? Sorry for the hurt you’ve just brought upon yourself?_ Whatever Sokka might have said, he didn’t get a chance to, because suddenly Zuko and his two guards were standing between Sokka and the unknowingly suicidal flirt. 

“Do we have a problem here?” Zuko said, in a voice so low it was almost a whisper. 

The man looked from Zuko to his guards to Sokka, apparently unsure what to make of the sudden interruption. “Hey, man, we were just having a little fun.” 

“It didn’t look like he was having much _fun_ being sexually harassed by you,” Zuko hissed. 

The man was starting to look a little more appropriately frightened. “L-Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t realize he was your man. I’ll back off.” 

Zuko took a step forward. “That’s right. He’s _mine._ ” He flicked his wrist, letting a tiny lick of flame dance over his fingers – a thinly veiled threat.

Sokka felt an aroused shiver go down his spine. 

“I think it’s time for you to head home for the night.” Zuko moved in even closer to the man, who didn’t seem to know whether to be more scared of Zuko or the glowering hulks behind him. 

Finally, he backed down. “Alright, alright, I’ll leave. Jeez.” 

The man disappeared into the crowd. 

Zuko turned back to Sokka with an animalistic look in his eye. Before Sokka could open his mouth, Zuko captured it in a hungry, possessive kiss. Sokka moaned unashamedly against Zuko’s lips, enthusiastically letting Zuko stake his claim by grabbing Sokka’s hips and grinding them up against his own. The kiss went on far too long for the setting and yet not nearly long enough, and Sokka keened disappointedly when Zuko pulled away and spilled hot breath over Sokka’s face. 

“Fuck, Zuko, that was – I mean, you were – ” Sokka breathed through the haze clouding his mind and telling him to _take Zuko home, now._

“I overreacted, didn’t I?” Zuko winced. 

“The firebending was a bit much,” Sokka agreed. “But spirits, baby, that was so fucking hot. Fuck. I need to get hit on more often.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “You get hit on constantly, you just don’t realize it. Haven’t you ever noticed that every drink that bartender sells you is half-priced?”

“That’s just because there’s a sale going on. Or something,” Sokka said (internally questioning everything he knew to be true). 

Zuko shook his head. “I’m sorry for freaking out. I think I’m just a little sensitive after…you know.” Sokka knew. “Sometimes _this,_ ” Zuko said, reaching out to stroke the leather band of Sokka’s engagement necklace, “just _does things_ to me. Not to mention _this,_ ” he went on, placing one hand flat on the exposed scar on Sokka’s chest, “or _this,_ ” reaching the other up to stroke Sokka’s short hair. “You’re making it hard to control myself around you.” 

Sokka went weak in the knees. “Then don’t,” he said, voice gravelly and low.

Zuko’s eyes glinted. 

“And what is it with you and my hair?” Sokka asked. Not that he was complaining! Not one bit. “You never told me you wanted me to cut it short.” 

“I _didn’t,_ ” Zuko said. “Or at least, I didn’t think I did.” He chewed on his lip. “It’s kind of silly.” 

“Oooh, that just makes me want to know even more.”

Zuko looked down with an embarrassed smile. “Remember when I told you about the first guy I ever had… _thoughts_ about?” 

Sokka nodded curiously. Zuko had confided in him before about his crush on Mai’s young, handsome guard who’d watched over them while they played together as children. Sokka _loved_ the story, brought it up for weeks after he found out and still smiled at the thought of it every now and then. It was absolutely adorable imagining twelve-year-old Zuko putting himself and his friend in “danger” only to be “saved” by the poor guard. 

“Well, he was tan, and tall, and strong, and kind. And with your hair like this,” and Zuko ran his fingers through it again for emphasis, “you’re the spitting image of him. I just keep thinking, how ecstatic would little me be if he saw me with you today?” 

Sokka raised his eyebrows. “That is…interesting information.”

“Is it?” 

Sokka stepped out of Zuko’s reach, squaring his shoulders and puffing his chest out. “Don’t worry, Prince Zuko,” he declared with exaggerated grandiosity. “I’m here to protect you!” 

Sokka was delighted to see Zuko blush, even deeper than before. “Oh, you liked that, didn’t you?” Sokka teased with a wiggle of his eyebrow. 

“Just grab our drinks,” Zuko mumbled. He turned his red face away so Sokka couldn’t see it getting even redder. 

Sokka did as he was asked. As they made their way back to their friends, Sokka turned to Zuko’s guards, who of course had observed the whole display without saying a word. “Don’t get any ideas,” Sokka warned them. “I’m the only ‘guard’ he’s got eyes for.”

They maintained their characteristic silence. 

“Took you long enough,” Katara complained as Sokka set the tray of drinks down onto the table and slid back into the booth next to Zuko. “Can you boys go anywhere without making a scene? The whole place was staring at Zuko when he was like _‘I’m gonna end your destiny permanently.’_ ” She mimicked Zuko’s raspy grumble. 

“Sorry, no, we can’t,” Zuko said, just as Sokka said “You’d understand if you were with someone as sexy as me. No offense, Aang.”

“Unbelievable.” 

“Drink up,” Sokka told them, distributing the drinks. “Katara, you’ll like this one. It’s named after our favorite friendly neighborhood river spirit.” 

“What?! No way!” Katara grabbed her drink and took a sip. “Mmm, and it tastes so good! It’s nice to finally get some appreciation for everything I’ve done for the Fire Nation.” 

“And yet, there’s no drink named after the Avatar,” Aang observed. “I’m telling you, they only invite me here as an excuse to invite you.”

“See, Aang is just as sappy as me, yet you never make fun of him!” Sokka whined. 

“I’m your little sister, I’m _legally obligated_ to make fun of you,” Katara shrugged. “I’m sorry, I don’t write the laws here. He does.”

Zuko, the traitor, shrugged along with her. “She’s right.” 

Aang downed his drink and then whispered something in Katara’s ear that made her blush and nod. She finished her drink too. 

“We’re going dancing!” Aang said, grabbing Katara’s hand and tugging her out of the booth to join the crowded dancefloor, just as the band was starting up a particularly upbeat song. 

Unsurprisingly, Sokka didn’t mind being left alone with Zuko. There was a warmth spreading across his chest and a flush spreading across Zuko’s cheeks as they slowly sipped down their drinks. Sokka wrapped his arm around Zuko’s shoulders and whispered suggestions in his ear, which grew more and more explicit the further they slouched down in darkened booth and the further Zuko’s hand crept up his thigh. They both watched as Aang and Katara stole the show with yet another well-practiced set of moves. 

“Want to dance?” Zuko said suddenly. 

Sokka smiled and kissed Zuko’s temple. Of course he wanted to dance, but that would mean leaving Zuko all alone. “That’s okay, baby. I’d rather stay here with you.” 

Zuko snorted. “I meant do you want to dance _with me._ ”

Sokka’s eyes went wide. “Wait, seriously? You want to?” 

Zuko looked at him with a softness that made Sokka’s heart throb. “Yeah, I do. You want to, right?”

“Of course I do,” Sokka said, still overcoming his shock. Dancing with Zuko was the dream, but Zuko had put a strict moratorium on all dancing and of course, Sokka wasn’t one to ignore his boundaries. As he sat there comprehending what Zuko was asking for, the fast-paced song ended abruptly and was replaced by quiet ballad with a slow tempo. The crowd on the floor broke off into couples and began to sway in pairs. 

“Let’s go then.” Zuko pushed Sokka out of the booth and scooted toward him. 

With a grin, Sokka grabbed Zuko’s hand and tugged him to his feet, right into Sokka’s chest. He wrapped his arm around Zuko’s waist and lead him gently over toward the music, anxious that Zuko might change his mind. They joined the edge of the crowd and Sokka turned to face his fiancé. 

“Is it weird that I’m kind of nervous?” Zuko asked, glancing at the other couples moving in time around them. 

“It’s not weird, but you shouldn’t be nervous. I’ve got you.” 

“What do I even do?” 

“For a song like this? Not much. Just put your hands here…” Sokka took Zuko’s arms and guided them to rest on Sokka’s shoulders. Zuko closed the loop by linking his hands together behind Sokka’s neck, tugging Sokka even closer and stroking the soft grain of his undercut. “I put my hands here…” Sokka went on, wrapping his own arms around Zuko’s waist and reeling him in so their chests were pressed flush together. “And then we just kind of…sway.”

“Sway,” Zuko repeated. He looked skeptically up at Sokka and began to shift experimentally from side to side. “Like this?” 

“Yup!” Sokka said. He followed Zuko’s lead, letting him rock Sokka gently in place.

“That’s all?”

“That’s all,” Sokka confirmed. “Of course, there are some more advanced moves I can teach you…”

“No, no, this is good for now,” Zuko said. He was still looking up at Sokka with wide eyes, but his stress had been replaced with bare trust. 

They moved together to the music. As Sokka reveled in the amount of physical contact Zuko was giving him in such a public place, the crooning alto moved onto the song’s chorus, and Sokka took the swelling music as an opportunity to guide Zuko through a slow spin. A few feet away, Sokka saw Aang, who Katara was clinging to with every bit as much ferocity as Zuko was to Sokka. Aang caught Sokka’s eye and flashed him a happy wink; Sokka grinned in return. 

“Well? What do you think?” Sokka asked, returning his gaze to meet Zuko’s. Zuko looked unable to tear his eyes away from Sokka’s face, and he didn’t so much as glance in another direction. 

“It’s nice,” Zuko said. “I feel like I finally understand why people like this sort of thing.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because.” Zuko brought one hand away from Sokka’s neck and used it to cup Sokka’s face, thumb pressing against Sokka’s chin with a touch so light he could barely feel it. “Because it gives me an excuse to just… _look_ at you. No one’s going to judge me for looking at you all I want. Honestly, I wish I could just look at you like this all the time.”

Zuko was right, Sokka realized. That was an awesome perk of slow-dancing. He followed Zuko’s example and looked, _really looked,_ at the man he was holding in his arms. Zuko’s face was an image so familiar that Sokka could paint it with his eyes closed, and yet Sokka still always found himself a little mesmerized when he saw it. Sokka’s eyes trailed from Zuko’s dainty pink lips (parted with an awestruck little smile) to his crimson scar (which made Sokka love Zuko even more, not _despite_ it but _because_ of it) and finally to his golden eyes (wide with a level of adoration that made Sokka wonder for the millionth time how he’d managed to get so lucky). And Zuko was right. Sokka looked at Zuko all the time, but always with the necessary limitations of time and social expectation. He wished he could look at Zuko like _this_ every minute of his life. 

So of course, Sokka couldn’t help but close the distance between them and fold all of his love into a chaste kiss pressed against Zuko’s perfect lips. Sokka watched as Zuko’s surprised eyes slid shut with satisfaction and he let out a singsong sigh against Sokka’s mouth. Zuko kissed back, not desperately, but reverently, bringing both hands down so he could cradle Sokka’s face and drink from his lips like they were the rim of a fragile piece of china. The crowd around them was gone. Their kiss was a delicate bubble they were both careful not to break. 

The _only_ reason Sokka pulled away was because he had to take another opportunity to just _look_ at Zuko. 

Zuko saw something over Sokka’s shoulder that made him furrow his brow. “Sokka…”

“Hmm?”

“Do you feel like people are…staring?” 

“Nobody’s staring,” Sokka reassured him automatically. He brought one hand up from Zuko’s waist to turn his face back toward Sokka’s. Zuko looked utterly stunning. “But, baby…could you blame them if they were?”

That set off something in Zuko. His eyes flickered between embarrassment and affection before finally he simply melted into Sokka’s chest, pressing his lips against Sokka’s scar and keeping them there. 

As the singer reached the bridge, Sokka held Zuko even tighter than before. Looking out over Zuko’s head, Sokka realized Zuko had been right. The other dancers and the bargoers were… _watching_ them. Even the band’s vocalist seemed to be singing right to Sokka with a knowing smile. 

A less smitten Sokka might have noticed that Zuko’s hood had slid away from his face, and understood that the unexpected attention was coming from the revelation that the Fire Lord was at a bar, slow dancing, and kissing his fiancé without a care in the world. But the thought never crossed Sokka’s mind. To him, the only logical explanation was that everyone else had become just as hypnotized by his breath-taking fiancé as he was. Sokka took one of his hands off of Zuko’s waist and reached up to wind his fingers through Zuko’s dark hair, pressing him close to his chest. 

_Yes,_ he silently answered their questioning eyes. _Yes. He’s mine._

Sokka couldn’t blame them for staring; he would too. Zuko was brave and he was beautiful and he belonged to _Sokka._ And none of that was ever going to change.

* * *

As they waved goodbye to Katara and Aang, Zuko was ready and eager for Sokka to lead him back to their bedroom for the night. But that’s not what happened. 

“I have a surprise for you,” Sokka told him, in that uniquely Sokka tone of voice that managed to be flirtatious and uncontainably excited all at once. He threaded his fingers through Zuko’s and brought them to his face, lightly kissing his knuckles. “Come with me?”

“Another surprise?” Zuko asked. Sokka had been full of them tonight, although Zuko supposed he had been too. He wouldn’t soon forget the happy, stunned expression on Sokka’s face when Zuko had asked him to dance. 

“Yup. Is that okay?” 

Any surprise from Sokka was more than okay. “Lead the way,” Zuko told him. 

Sokka grinned and wrapped his arm around Zuko’s shoulder, and Zuko reciprocated with a hand on the small of Sokka’s back. Maybe it was the alcohol in his veins or leftover thrill from the dancing, but Zuko found that he couldn’t keep his hands off of Sokka as they made their way through an empty wing of the palace. While his hand on Sokka’s waist drifted lower and lower, he used his other one to grab the arm around his shoulders and tug it down so their cheeks were flush together. Then he turned and pressed an unchaste kiss against Sokka’s throat, just above his betrothal necklace, just because he could. 

“Ohhhh my gosh,” Sokka breathed, his voice high. He leaned instinctively into the kiss, but then tugged his face just out of Zuko’s reach. “Just – _hngh_ – just hold on a minute,” he said when Zuko let out a dissatisfied grunt. “I want to, baby, but you’re gonna make me trip.” 

Zuko was unhappy, but he did as Sokka asked. He realized that Sokka was leading him outside, through a set of palace gates, out to the sprawling palace gardens. It was different, being out here at night. During the day, the gardens were bright and alive with wildlife and people; now, they felt hushed, private, like a hiding place made for just the two of them, lit up only by starlight. Sokka navigated them through the mazes of tall shrubbery and finally slowed when he saw the branches of a massive oak tree peaking up over the flowered wall of bushes in front of them. 

“Close your eyes?” Sokka asked him with a nervous smile.

Zuko gave him a look and then closed his eyes. Sokka gripped him by the shoulders and lead him around the corner of the bushes, until Zuko could feel that he was no longer stepping on paved stone but rather on soft grass. Sokka tightened his hands with a squeeze and then stepped away, letting Zuko stand alone. 

“Okay. You can open them.” 

Zuko opened them, softly gasping as he did. 

“Oh. Oh, Sokka…” 

In front of him was his favorite spot in the gardens, the very oak tree where he’d waited so anxiously for Sokka what felt like an eternity ago. But someone had put a cloth canopy that was propped up by wooden poles against the tree’s trunk. Spread beneath it was a giant, soft-looking blanket topped with cushions and comforters, like a plush little nest hidden in the middle of the gardens. Off to the side was a pitcher, a pair of glasses, and several dishes of desserts and fruit. 

Zuko didn’t know what to say. “What’s all this for?”

Sokka stepped up beside him. “I was feeling bad that I stood you up the other day,” he told Zuko. “I wanted to make it up to you. With another lunch date.” 

_Stood me up?_ Zuko looked at Sokka quizzically, trying to figure out what on earth he was talking about. 

Sokka began to fish through his pockets, finally pulling out a scrap of paper and shoving it into Zuko’s hands. “We were supposed to eat together? Remember? The day I got…you know?” 

Zuko looked down at the note. It was indeed his own writing, inviting Sokka to eat with him. It felt like a lifetime ago that he’d slipped the invitation into Sokka’s sketchbook and promised that they’d be together soon. He’d been so right and yet so wrong without even knowing it. 

Zuko couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing. 

“What?!” Sokka asked defensively. 

“You – ” Zuko tried between laughs, but he couldn’t get it out. “You – you were feeling bad for standing me up? Because you got _kidnapped?_ ”

Sokka looked indignant. “Yes, I was feeling bad! I was so sad thinking about you waiting here all alone, and me never showing up…You must have been so worried…” 

The last of the laughter exited Zuko’s body, and he felt himself overcome with something different, a deep gratitude for Sokka that made him feel like he might cry. 

“Sokka,” he said, turning toward his fiancé and wrapping his arms around Sokka’s neck. “You’re too much. I really don’t deserve all this.” 

“You really do, Zuko. You really do. This and more.” Sokka wound his arms around Zuko’s waist. “So you like it?” 

“I love it.”

“And I love you.” Sokka leaned in to kiss him, but maybe realizing there were two pairs of eyes still on them, he held back. 

“Hey,” Sokka said, turning to Zuko’s guards, who had followed along with dutiful silence. “No offense, but beat it.” 

The guards didn’t move. 

A smile played at Zuko’s lips. Much as he pretended, Sokka didn’t actually control the royal army. “You’re dismissed,” he said with a nod toward the guards. “I’ll see you in the morning.” They nodded and turned, probably grateful to miss out on what other physical affection the night would hold. 

“Finally, some alone time with my man,” Sokka said, nuzzling his nose against Zuko’s with a grin. Zuko tilted his head back to snatch up the kiss he was entitled to, but Sokka turned away, tugging Zuko toward the setup. 

“Katara helped me put this all together earlier,” Sokka told Zuko as they reached the edge the blanket. “There’s just one part we couldn’t do on our own.” He gestured down, and for the first time Zuko noticed that there were dozens of unlit candles on the blanket, in the grass, and even in the low hanging tree branches surrounding them. “Do you think you could…?”

Zuko smiled instead of answering. He lit a small flame in his palm and then let it spread out in thin streams to light every candle individually. Now that it was bathed in candlelight, the midnight picnic looked even more cozy and welcoming. 

“Perfect,” Sokka said, his voice a little awed, the way it always got when he saw Zuko firebending. He took Zuko’s hand again and lead him onto the blanket, toward soft cushions stacked up next to the tree. Zuko lowered himself down and leaned back against them, his back supported by the sturdy tree but protected by thick, made-for-royalty pillows. 

“Comfy?” Sokka asked, kneeling down next to him. 

“Very.” 

“Cool.” 

Sokka pulled one of Zuko’s outstretched legs into his lap and began unlacing his tall boot. 

“Oh, uh, here,” Zuko said, tugging his leg toward his chest to do the work himself, but Sokka held onto it. 

“Babe, relax. Let me. I want to.” Sokka sent a smile up toward him, and Zuko couldn’t help but smile back. His protests had only been halfhearted, anyway. Neither of them ever admitted it out loud, because there was no need, but Zuko adored it when Sokka doted on him. It was the one situation in life when Zuko didn’t find himself involuntarily in charge, and he was always happy to let Sokka take the reigns away from him. 

Sokka slid off the one boot, then unlaced and removed the other. Next, he brought his hands up to Zuko’s neck and untied the cloak that he was still wearing, sliding it off his shoulders while maximizing his contact with Zuko’s skin. Zuko’s nerves tingled where Sokka touched him, and he leaned forward, hoping to catch him in a kiss, but Sokka backed just an inch out of his reach. 

“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll get there,” Sokka promised.

He grabbed the cloak and tossed it aside. There was no need for disguises here. 

Sokka sat back on his heels. “Now, let me…” he trailed off, grabbing one of the glasses and the big pitcher. He poured Zuko a glass of what Zuko now realized was red wine and then passed it to Zuko. Zuko gave it a curious sniff and then a sip. It was good wine, he realized, taking a larger gulp and trying not to think of which foreign dignitary’s gift they were splitting. 

“Taste good?” Sokka asked. 

“Really good. Pour yourself some,” Zuko told him. 

“In a second. First…” Sokka turned and grabbed something, then crawled back over to Zuko. “Strawberry?” he asked, holding out a whole bowl of them. 

Zuko nodded. Before he could grab one himself, Sokka plucked a berry from the bowl and held it to Zuko’s lips. Zuko bit into the end, maintaining grateful eye contact with Sokka as he did. Sokka smiled and brought the rest of strawberry to his own mouth to finish it off. Zuko felt his face heat up as Sokka tossed the berry’s green end into the grass near them. There was something intimate about letting Sokka feed him, and about sharing the little fruit. Like kissing, but more personal. 

“Mmm, that was good,” Sokka said. “Did you like it?”

“Yeah. They’re good,” Zuko said. “Thank you.”

Sokka beamed at him. He shifted himself downward so he could lay his head in Zuko’s lap, alternating between taking bites out of strawberries himself and passing them up toward Zuko. As the wine made Zuko feel even warmer, he stroked Sokka’s short hair and tried to memorize the way he looked in the glowing light of the candles around them. Sokka was dazzlingly handsome always, but now even more than usual, lit up as he was with fire and starlight, with a little trail of juice coming down his chin. 

Zuko felt suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude to be able to hold Sokka in his lap in this moment. Zuko hadn’t forgotten that a few days ago, Sokka had been taken from him and it had taken everything Zuko had to keep him alive. There had been more than one moment when Zuko felt certain that Sokka’s life was permanently over and that he would soon follow. Something that before would have seemed so commonplace, like the feeling of Sokka’s wide blue eyes staring up at him, now felt so more important than he could even articulate. 

“Whatcha thinking about?” Sokka asked, breaking the silence. 

Zuko smiled and brushed his thumb affectionately over Sokka’s nose. “Just about how lucky I am.” 

Zuko didn’t elaborate for Sokka. He knew he didn’t have to, and Sokka’s watery smile back up at him confirmed that. Zuko decided to change the subject before he started tearing up too. 

“So you spent a lot of time with your sister today,” Zuko asked him. “That must have been nice.”

“It was. It was really nice,” Sokka agreed, feeding Zuko another berry. “Well, we spent most of the day just getting all of this together. But we also spent a lot of time just hanging out. Talking. About you, obviously, but also other things. Home. Dad. Sometimes it’s just nice to be around family, you know?”

There was an underlying question in Sokka’s words, but he knew Zuko well enough not to ask it outright. Instead, he let Zuko contemplate his words, deciding whether to seize them or let them pass and initiate the conversation in his own time.

But Zuko decided to take him up on them. 

“It is nice,” Zuko agreed. 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah. Seeing Azula today, it was…nice,” Zuko told him, surprised to find that he was telling the truth. Visiting his sister hadn’t been traumatic, it wasn’t sending Zuko into an existential crisis. It was just…nice. 

Sokka didn’t answer, just chewed, waiting for Zuko to talk when he felt like it. 

“She didn’t hurt me, which was unexpected,” Zuko went on, and Sokka laughed. “Actually, she didn’t say much of anything. It was mostly just me talking at her. I talked about you, too.”

“Oh yeah? What about?”

“I told her you were alive. That you’re amazing. That I want you guys to have a relationship eventually.” Zuko furrowed his brow and looked down. “You’d want that, right? I know she did something terrible to you, but – ”

“Zuko. Of course I do.” Sokka’s face was sincere. “I mean yeah, it was a pretty shitty thing to do, but I think we can both agree she wasn’t in her right mind when it happened. And she’s your family, which means she’s my family now too. And…” Sokka sat up suddenly, turning to take Zuko’s face in both of his hands. “And I trust you. Completely. So if it’s what you want, it’s what I want.” 

Zuko smiled. His heart felt ready to burst. He’d known Sokka would agree to it – or to anything he asked for – but it still felt nice to hear it out loud. He covered one of Sokka’s hands on his face with his own. “I also told her that we’re getting married. And that soon you’re going to be my…husband.” 

Sokka grinned, and Zuko felt himself grinning right back. “God, I love the sound of that,” Sokka said. 

“Me too.” 

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of introducing you as my husband. Or telling people I’m Zuko’s husband. Fuck, that’s going to be so cool.” 

“Mmm, I can’t wait,” Zuko murmured. He leaned in and tasted the strawberry on Sokka’s lips, tangling his hand in Sokka’s shirt so he could pull his _future husband_ down on top of him. But as Zuko began to fall backwards, Sokka stopped him. 

“Hang on a second,” Sokka said, licking his lips. “It’s just that – before we do that, I wanted to say something to you tonight. I think I owe you an apology. And a compliment.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Sokka’s expression was unreadable. “You know how much I care about you,” he began. “I mean, you’re the most important thing in my life, obviously. And as your boyfriend, and now as your fiancé, and soon as your husband, I feel like it’s my responsibility to take care of you. And, spirits, baby, you know I’m more than happy to take care of you,” he added with a smile, running a thumb over Zuko’s wine-soaked lips. “But I’m worried that sometimes I overstep a little bit.” 

“Sokka, you don’t – ”

“No, just listen. I’ve been with you for a long time. I’ve seen a lot of your highs and lows. I know some horrible, undeserved shit has happened to you in your life, and it makes me sick that it happened, but it did. So, knowing that, it’s hard for me not to get scared that some of that shit is gonna to come back to haunt us now, today.” Sokka looked sad. “Sometimes I used to feel like we had this perfect, amazing life, but something could happen at any moment and you wouldn’t be able to handle it and then everything we’d built together would just topple over. Which is scary. It scared me for a long time, and that’s one reason I’m so protective of you. _But_ …” 

He paused. “But…?” Zuko prompted. 

“ _But,_ I was totally wrong.” One of Sokka’s hands stroked Zuko’s hair. “Zuko. The worst-case scenario? It just happened to us. We both almost just died. Your sister broke out of prison and _kidnapped me_ and then you had to fight her. Twice!” Sokka let out a humorless laugh. “I can’t really imagine anything worse. And you said it yourself before and you were right – I would have expected you to be a mess. But…you’re not. You’re fine. Actually,” he corrected himself, “you’re more than fine – you did something more _good_ than I think most people on earth are capable of. I mean, you were absolutely incredible. And now you’re totally fine.” 

Zuko opened his mouth to speak, but Sokka went on. “So here’s the apology and the compliment. Zuko, I’m sorry I didn’t give you enough credit. You’re not someone who’s going to shatter at any moment. You’ve put in the work these past few years and you’ve gotten to the point where now you’re just so _strong._ I want you to know that I see you.” Sokka was getting choked up. “I’m just so insanely proud of you, and proud to be the person you want to spend your life with.”

Sokka was silent then. He looked at Zuko, chewing on his lip as he anxiously waited for Zuko to respond. 

Zuko opened his mouth again, tried to put words to the thoughts in his head, but for the second time that night, all he could do was _laugh._

Sokka’s face had contorted into one of terror before Zuko could speak again. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just that…I think we’re just bad at this.”

“What are you talking about?” Sokka said indignantly. 

“This sounds _just_ like a conversation I had with Aang a few days ago,” Zuko managed through a snort. “I told him _I_ was scared of being too protective of _you._ ” 

“You? But you’re not – ”

“See you say that, but that’s how I feel about what you just said to me.” Zuko was regaining control of himself now, so he wiped the happy tears in his eyes away with one wrist. “Sokka. I think we need to stop apologizing for wanting to take care of one another. Because, I’m pretty sure – I think I’ve realized that it’s just another part of being in love,” he told Sokka, remembering Aang’s words. 

“But – hmm…” Sokka cut himself off, taking in what Zuko was telling him. 

“I don’t think it’s disrespectful for you to be protective of me. I don’t think it’s crazy for me to be protective of you. I think it just…is,” Zuko told him sincerely. “I hear what you’re telling me. About being proud of me for being strong. I’m…proud of me too, to be honest,” Zuko realized with a small smile. “But maybe one day I won’t be, and then I’m going to need you to be there for me. So you don’t have to apologize for being worried about me.” Zuko’s smile turned teasing. “So I guess what I’m saying is, I accept your compliment, but I reject your apology.” 

Sokka looked a little speechless, but his lips slowly formed a smile too. “You’re proving me right, you know.” 

“What are you going to do about it?”

Sokka laughed. _Finally,_ he tightened the hands on both sides of Zuko’s head and leaned in to kiss him, hard and certain. The forever kind of kiss – the kind you’d give to your husband. 

Sokka made to push Zuko down onto the blankets, but Zuko had other plans. He stopped Sokka with a hand on his chest and, when Sokka broke away to give him a confused look, Zuko pushed him backwards. Sokka hit the cushions with a gasp, and then Zuko was on top of him, straddling his hips with a mischievous smile. Without giving Sokka time to recover, Zuko took Sokka’s face in both hands and went down for another kiss, one made more for a wedding night than a wedding. Sokka moaned against him and wrapped his arms tight around Zuko’s waist, pressing their hips together and grinding upwards to create a friction that made Zuko feel lightheaded. 

For the millionth time, Zuko marveled that he was still able to hold Sokka in his two hands. Almost losing Sokka had only made Zuko all the more determined to never lose him again. As they kissed, Zuko clung tight to Sokka, not only because being enveloped in Sokka’s strong arms was one of the best feelings on earth, but also to remind himself that Sokka was _alive._

“So glad you’re mine,” Sokka murmured helplessly against his lips. 

“Me too,” Zuko breathed back, just as helpless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ **EDIT: THIS CHAPTER NOW HAS FANART! PLEASE CHECK IT OUT HERE!** ](https://delfisdoodles.tumblr.com/post/627179086846083072/bemis-tan-ho-delfisdoodles-im-in-love)
> 
> Well, folks, we've finally made it to the end! It's long and indulgently fluffy, but I think I deserve it. I hope you like the ending and that you enjoyed following this story just as much as I have enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> I want to thank everyone who's followed along with this story and commented as I've posted these past few months. I truly would not have continued writing without your love and support. I started this fic at a very dark time in my life, and getting to hear everyone's kind words has helped the healing process along quite a bit. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 
> 
> I have another longform Zukka fic coming down the pipe, but I'm planning on writing a few oneshots before I get started on another big project. That being said, if anyone has any ideas or requests, please drop them in the comments. I'd love to gift a few fics to show my appreciation for all the love and support that _Protective_ has gotten. 
> 
> Happy Fourth of July and I hope you all have a great rest of your summer!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Protective [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26774158) by [Rionaa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rionaa/pseuds/Rionaa)




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